American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stake in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy by 6.2%, holding 3.91 million shares worth approximately $117 million.
• SM Energy reported $1.50 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.23, with a revenue increase of 25% year-over-year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing a 3.1% annual yield with a payout ratio of 11.30%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,909,004 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 226,911 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.42% of SM Energy worth $117,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 200.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 172.8% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 80.7% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 73.1% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,899 shares of the energy company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 34.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the energy company's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM traded up $0.3310 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.8410. The stock had a trading volume of 2,023,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,268,637. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 2.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. SM Energy Company has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $47.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.27. SM Energy had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 25.94%.The company had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's payout ratio is presently 11.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial cut SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

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.