Federated Hermes Inc. Reduces Position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in SM Energy by 40.1%, selling 200,521 shares, with the remaining ownership valued at approximately $8.95 million.
• Brokerage ratings have been mixed, with Raymond James lowering its rating to "underperform," while TD Cowen upgraded it to "strong-buy"; SM Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 11.20%.

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 40.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,924 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 200,521 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of SM Energy worth $8,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SM. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in SM Energy by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $103,998,000 after purchasing an additional 767,779 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,118,297 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $82,105,000 after purchasing an additional 42,297 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in SM Energy by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,449,483 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $56,182,000 after purchasing an additional 140,228 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in SM Energy by 15.8% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,259,627 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $37,726,000 after purchasing an additional 172,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP grew its position in SM Energy by 45.5% in the first quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,226,895 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $36,746,000 after purchasing an additional 383,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,590,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,127. The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 2.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.58 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 11.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.