Cibc World Markets Corp Buys New Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,708 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in SM Energy by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,002,000 after purchasing an additional 80,343 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $259,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,048,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 178,750 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,145,000 after acquiring an additional 12,102 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 267.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 391,107 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $15,633,000 after acquiring an additional 284,665 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $30.68 on Monday. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $26.66 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.02 and its 200-day moving average is $39.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SM. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.