Czech National Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Czech National Bank increased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $7,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,891,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,662,000 after buying an additional 133,119 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 9.4% in the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 12,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its holdings in Sempra by 0.9% in the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 21,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Sempra by 7.7% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $75.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,885,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,001,793. 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 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho raised their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.00.

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.