Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 19,861 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 84.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,450 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 19,861 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new position in SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $3,373,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 751,453 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,096,000 after buying an additional 213,866 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3,772.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 62,164 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 9,285 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM opened at $48.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. SM Energy has a one year low of $25.03 and a one year high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 4.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.20 and a 200 day moving average of $40.90.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The business had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.21 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James decreased their price target on SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.86.

SM Energy 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.