National Bank of Canada FI Has $46.48 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 529,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 90,931 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.08% of Sempra worth $46,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE opened at $72.93 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Sempra

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.