SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,683,131 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 767,779 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 2.34% of SM Energy worth $103,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in SM Energy by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $179,546,000 after buying an additional 835,929 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $142,718,000 after acquiring an additional 296,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $48,676,000 after purchasing an additional 32,803 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in 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 worth $47,864,000 after purchasing an additional 25,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,033 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $45,234,000 after purchasing an additional 68,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.83.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $22.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 3.75. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $19.67 and a 12 month high of $51.94. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.39.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.