CX Institutional Boosts Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

CX Institutional raised its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,718 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 2,103 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,614,000. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1,733.5% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 102,307 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 96,727 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $710,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 593,241 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,646,000 after purchasing an additional 27,405 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in SM Energy by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 764,118 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,093,000 after buying an additional 124,450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM stock opened at $42.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $34.13 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.04. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.73.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.