Pathstone Holdings LLC Reduces Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Pathstone Holdings LLC cut its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 18.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 52,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,590 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $4,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $94.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.69. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.29. The stock has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

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.