Range Financial Group LLC Takes $833,000 Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,495 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 47.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company's stock worth $10,002,000 after buying an additional 80,343 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter worth $259,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 79.2% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 65,421 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 28,920 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth $3,048,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 144.6% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,357 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 13,215 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on SM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on 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. KeyCorp decreased their target price on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.64.

SM Energy Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE SM traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $42.65. 2,089,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,270,368. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $34.76 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.89. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 4.14.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The business had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.17%.

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.