IFP Advisors Inc Boosts Stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 349.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,642 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 16,049 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in SM Energy were worth $618,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in SM Energy by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,970 shares of the energy company's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,718 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,975 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,823 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 6.3% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,688 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Up 4.9%

SM stock traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $28.92. 509,641 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,285,920. 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 Company has a 1-year low of $19.67 and a 1-year high of $47.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $25.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.06. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 2.16.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on SM shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.33.

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.