Diversified Trust Co Buys 3,089 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,776 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,089 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 2,515.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $178,404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,793 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in SM Energy by 929.6% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,159,488 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $50,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,872 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in SM Energy by 2,217.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 818,032 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $32,697,000 after purchasing an additional 782,728 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in SM Energy by 6.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,341,875 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $274,161,000 after purchasing an additional 384,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 267.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 391,107 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $15,633,000 after purchasing an additional 284,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.20.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $42.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $34.76 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 4.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.58 and its 200 day moving average is $42.88.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. Research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.17%.

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.