Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $32.70 Million Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 2,217.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 818,032 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 782,728 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.71% of SM Energy worth $32,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $5,614,000. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 1,733.5% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 102,307 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 96,727 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $710,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 593,241 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,646,000 after purchasing an additional 27,405 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in SM Energy by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 764,118 shares of the energy company's stock worth $38,093,000 after purchasing an additional 124,450 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

SM stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,435,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,740,858. The company has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 4.18. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. KeyCorp cut their price target on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.73.

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.