Highlander Capital Management LLC Has $29,000 Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Highlander Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 66.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $29,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Sempra by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,917,668 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $958,253,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,578,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $903,534,000 after purchasing an additional 233,819 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,077,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,912,000 after purchasing an additional 507,622 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 4,338,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,221,000 after purchasing an additional 54,592 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,675,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,969,454. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $83.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $51.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.39.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 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 return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.10.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company 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.