Commerce Bank Sells 2,108 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Commerce Bank lowered its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,108 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $4,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $94.69 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $85.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.49. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $94.86. The company has a market cap of $59.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.