Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Cuts Position in SM Energy Company $SM

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,071 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 6,550 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in SM Energy by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,017 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in SM Energy by 1,097.9% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,138 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 332.8% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,887 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in SM Energy by 73.1% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,899 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Up 2.0%

SM stock opened at $19.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. SM Energy Company has a fifty-two week low of $17.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.47.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.08. SM Energy had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 25.94%.The business had revenue of $811.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 17th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on SM Energy to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Roth Capital set a $28.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Mizuho set a $38.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.64.

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.