National Bank of Canada FI Has $20.27 Million Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 42.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 266,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 79,873 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Sempra were worth $20,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Sempra by 99.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 30,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 15,080 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 77,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,266,000 after buying an additional 39,634 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Sempra by 131.5% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 146.5% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Sempra by 106.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 205,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,988,000 after purchasing an additional 105,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,095,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,595. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $47.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.86.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Sempra's payout ratio is 51.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.23.

Sempra Company 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.