Empowered Funds LLC Sells 121,373 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,264 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 121,373 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.17% of SM Energy worth $7,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in SM Energy by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 217,879 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $8,709,000 after buying an additional 11,153 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $458,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in SM Energy by 16.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in SM Energy by 554.7% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,863 shares of the energy company's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 102,324 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,090,000 after purchasing an additional 23,831 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on SM shares. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.73.

SM Energy Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of SM traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.33. 842,216 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,719,188. The business's 50-day moving average price is $42.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.83. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. SM Energy's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This is a boost from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.17%.

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.