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

First Hawaiian Bank reduced its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in 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 second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Sempra by 35.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $82.79 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.08 and a 200-day moving average of $83.59. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.