Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 1,978 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 42,920 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 1,978 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 24,739 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $959,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,237 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 84,538 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM opened at $31.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.67. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $26.66 and a twelve month high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The business had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. As a group, analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SM. Truist Financial raised their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SM Energy Profile

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.