Hantz Financial Services Inc. Has $11.49 Million Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 130,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 989 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $11,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after buying an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 6.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Sempra by 201.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,882,000 after buying an additional 414,406 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in Sempra in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,023,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $81.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.28. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.