Moody National Bank Trust Division Trims Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Sempra by 112.8% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 53.2% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 123.5% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 64,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,363,000 after purchasing an additional 35,438 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter worth $515,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter worth $1,662,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $75.10 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price target on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.00.

Sempra 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.