Czech National Bank Acquires 8,148 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 145,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,148 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $10,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 0.7%

SRE stock opened at $78.47 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.10 and a 200 day moving average of $79.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.75.

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.