Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 195.1% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. StockNews.com cut Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.00.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:SRE traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,443,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,775,743. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.