Community Bank N.A. Sells 600 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Community Bank N.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 29.9% during the third quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,673,000 after acquiring an additional 34,348 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 114.4% in the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 17,491 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,715,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $2,421,677.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $72.00. 1,085,099 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,938,258. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.66. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 51.77%.

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.