Diversify Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,268 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,191 shares during the quarter. SM Energy makes up 0.7% of Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Diversify Advisory Services LLC owned 0.31% of SM Energy worth $13,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 3,434.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 3,897.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $43.24 on Monday. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $34.90 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.75.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.17%.

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.