Nuveen LLC Invests $18.91 Million in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $18.91 million in SM Energy, acquiring 631,370 shares, representing about 0.55% of the company's total shares.
• SM Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.50, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $792.94 million, up by 25.0% from the previous year.
• The company recently paid a $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, yielding 3.1%, with a low payout ratio of 11.30% indicating a stable financial position.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 631,370 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $18,910,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.55% of SM Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SM. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 169.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,873,860 shares of the energy company's stock worth $56,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,397 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 51.4% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,207,245 shares of the energy company's stock worth $96,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,948 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth $25,363,000. Palisade Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 45.5% during the first quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,226,895 shares of the energy company's stock worth $36,746,000 after acquiring an additional 383,616 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 272.7% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 433,834 shares of the energy company's stock worth $12,993,000 after acquiring an additional 317,421 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.50.

SM Energy Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:SM traded up $0.6080 on Monday, hitting $28.3880. 2,084,185 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,088,835. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.02. 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 Company has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $47.69. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 2.29.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.27. SM Energy had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The firm had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $792.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.30%.

SM Energy Profile

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.