JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 835,929 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 4.05% of SM Energy worth $179,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $10,002,000 after acquiring an additional 80,343 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at $259,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter worth $3,048,000. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $833,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 114,664 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Trading Down 12.1 %

Shares of SM stock traded down $3.08 on Friday, hitting $22.25. 4,580,824 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,817,565. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 3.75. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $33.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.99. SM Energy has a one year low of $21.13 and a one year high of $53.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55.

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

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SM. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.