Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 66,225 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 35.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,025 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 66,225 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of SM Energy worth $4,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SM. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company's stock worth $10,002,000 after acquiring an additional 80,343 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in SM Energy during the third quarter worth $259,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 28,920 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 144.6% in 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. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,048,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

SM Energy stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.54. 438,324 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,669,076. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $34.76 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 4.15.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 11.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SM. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of 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 reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.64.

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.