SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Purchased by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,300 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $46,492,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in SM Energy by 72.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,054,503 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $81,461,000 after acquiring an additional 865,480 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,314,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,163,332 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,126,000 after purchasing an additional 358,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,669,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $50.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $25.03 and a 52-week high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The business had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.57.

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.