Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Buys Shares of 19,114 SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 19,114 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 509.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 665.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in SM Energy by 66.8% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on SM Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.22.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $40.13 on Friday. SM Energy has a one year low of $34.13 and a one year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 4.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.73.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.29%.

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.