Heartland Bank & Trust Co Trims Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Sempra were worth $448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the first quarter worth $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the first quarter worth $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 13.7% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,418,000 after purchasing an additional 14,100 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 249.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its holdings in Sempra by 319.5% in the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,980,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $85.96 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.75. 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 has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $86.13.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

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.