Bank of Hawaii Has $540,000 Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Bank of Hawaii boosted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 828 shares during the quarter. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in Sempra were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 25,838 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,649,000 after buying an additional 14,338 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $675,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,956,000 after acquiring an additional 26,821 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of SRE opened at $66.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.98.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.46.

Sempra 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.