Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Acquires New Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SRE. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.20.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $87.11 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.31 and a 200 day moving average of $84.92. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $55.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. 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 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.