Axa S.A. Sells 3,400 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Axa S.A. reduced its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,300 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $2,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SM. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 66.8% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in SM Energy by 63.9% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,403 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Mizuho cut their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.33.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $39.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.41. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $34.13 and a 1-year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

SM Energy Company 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.