CENTRAL TRUST Co Reduces Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,520 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Sempra by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 12.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 123,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,855,000 after acquiring an additional 13,986 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the first quarter valued at $264,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in Sempra by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 4,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in Sempra by 1,690.8% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $84.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $86.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 52.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.55.

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.