Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 248,556 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. has reduced its holdings in SM Energy by 19.7%, selling 248,556 shares, which brings its ownership to approximately 1,011,071 shares valued at $24.98 million.
• SM Energy recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.50, exceeding estimates, and had a revenue of $792.94 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 25.0%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20, with an annual dividend yield of 2.9%, set to be paid on November 3rd.

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 19.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,011,071 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 248,556 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.88% of SM Energy worth $24,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in SM Energy by 12.5% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 93,828 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,318,000 after buying an additional 10,435 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 27.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 7.1% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 623,617 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $15,410,000 after buying an additional 41,247 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in SM Energy by 1.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 29,209 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in SM Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,397,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $27.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 2.46. SM Energy Company has a 1 year low of $19.67 and a 1 year high of $46.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.02. 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 (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.27. SM Energy had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 25.94%.The business had revenue of $792.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.58 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SM shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $44.00 to $39.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.08.

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.

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