Raymond James & Associates Has $5 Million Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,169 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 34,437 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.11% of SM Energy worth $5,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the first quarter worth $5,614,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 1,733.5% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 102,307 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,100,000 after buying an additional 96,727 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the first quarter worth $710,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in SM Energy by 4.8% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 593,241 shares of the energy company's stock worth $25,646,000 after buying an additional 27,405 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in SM Energy by 19.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 764,118 shares of the energy company's stock worth $38,093,000 after buying an additional 124,450 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. TD Cowen raised SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Tudor Pickering raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.18.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SM traded down $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.28. 3,384,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,457,898. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 5.63 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 company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 33.89%. SM Energy's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. Research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. This is a boost from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.17%.

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.