Barclays PLC Buys 80,343 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250,218 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 80,343 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.22% of SM Energy worth $10,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SM. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in SM Energy by 2,515.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company's stock worth $178,404,000 after buying an additional 4,292,793 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 929.6% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,159,488 shares of the energy company's stock worth $50,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,872 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 2,217.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 818,032 shares of the energy company's stock worth $32,697,000 after purchasing an additional 782,728 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,341,875 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $274,161,000 after purchasing an additional 384,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 267.4% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 391,107 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $15,633,000 after purchasing an additional 284,665 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock traded down $0.51 on Tuesday, reaching $38.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,382,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,667,669. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $34.76 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 4.14. The firm's 50-day moving average is $42.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.82. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. This is a positive change from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 11.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.64.

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.