Congress Asset Management Co. Purchases 61,009 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,090,635 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 61,009 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.95% of SM Energy worth $43,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $819,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 509.7% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 12.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 842,960 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $42,022,000 after purchasing an additional 91,507 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in SM Energy by 31.1% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 13,351 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 3,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $477,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of SM Energy stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $42.04. 1,608,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,733,489. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 4.18. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $34.13 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.40. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This is a boost from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy's payout ratio is 12.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.73.

SM Energy 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.