PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 6,709 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Sempra worth $29,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $93.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.18 and a 200 day moving average of $80.39. The company has a market capitalization of $58.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.