Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 35.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $86.48 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $88.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.99. The stock has a market cap of $54.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.60.

Sempra Company Profile

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.