Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 55.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,118 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 103,795 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Sempra were worth $7,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Sempra Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE SRE traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $70.51. 2,998,456 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,681,123. The stock has a market cap of $45.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SRE. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.31.

About Sempra

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.