Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 3,714 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,714 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $11,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Sempra by 5.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 265,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,162,000 after acquiring an additional 12,779 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Sempra by 240.8% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 7,240 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Sempra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 41,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 9,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $94.28 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 $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.16. The stock has a market cap of $59.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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 research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

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.