Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its position in SM Energy by 35.9%, now holding 199,362 shares worth approximately $5.97 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $42.50 for SM Energy, with ratings ranging from sell to strong buy.
• SM Energy reported $1.50 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 35.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,362 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 111,603 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.17% of SM Energy worth $5,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock worth $103,998,000 after purchasing an additional 767,779 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,118,297 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $82,105,000 after buying an additional 42,297 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,449,483 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $56,182,000 after buying an additional 140,228 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,259,627 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $37,726,000 after buying an additional 172,161 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,226,895 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $36,746,000 after buying an additional 383,616 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.40. 2,358,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,139,686. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.57. SM Energy Company has a twelve month low of $19.67 and a twelve month high of $47.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 2.29.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SM. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Stephens decreased their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna upped their price target on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.