Denali Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 112,551 SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 112,551 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $4,362,000. Denali Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of SM Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SM. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 2,515.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $178,404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,793 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 267.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 391,107 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $15,633,000 after acquiring an additional 284,665 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 136.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 484,119 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $19,350,000 after acquiring an additional 279,417 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1,375.8% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 172,000 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $6,875,000 after acquiring an additional 160,345 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,287,815 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $251,324,000 after acquiring an additional 114,664 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,724,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,351. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $31.80 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 4.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.47.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. On average, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.98%.

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.