First National Advisers LLC Invests $339,000 in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC has invested approximately $339,000 in SM Energy Company by acquiring 11,318 shares during the first quarter.
• SM Energy recently reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, exceeding expectations, with a net margin of 27.61% and a 50.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equating to an annual yield of 2.91%, with a payout ratio of 11.20%.

First National Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,318 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 200.8% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 172.8% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in 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. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $164,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reduced their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.33.

SM Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SM traded down $0.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,011,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,282,668. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $26.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.95. SM Energy Company has a fifty-two week low of $19.67 and a fifty-two week high of $47.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 27.61% and a return on equity of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.20%.

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.