Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,199,510 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,686 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 13.28% of SM Energy worth $589,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in SM Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,287,815 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $251,324,000 after buying an additional 114,664 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $142,718,000 after purchasing an additional 296,601 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,693,372 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $107,675,000 after purchasing an additional 29,911 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $48,676,000 after buying an additional 32,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,234,890 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $47,864,000 after buying an additional 25,857 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Trading Down 12.1 %

Shares of SM Energy stock traded down $3.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.26. 2,317,121 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,808,850. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 3.75. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $21.14 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The stock's fifty day moving average is $33.63 and its 200 day moving average is $39.12.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

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.