SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board has increased its stake in SM Energy by 42.2%, acquiring an additional 120,275 shares, bringing its total ownership to about 405,332 shares worth approximately $12.14 million.
• SM Energy reported earnings of $1.50 EPS for the last quarter, outperforming analysts' expectations and showing a revenue increase of 25% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.0%, with a low payout ratio of 11.30%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 42.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 405,332 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 120,275 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.35% of SM Energy worth $12,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 8,355 shares of the energy company's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,258 shares of the energy company's stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 25,119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,624 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $656,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:SM traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $26.75. 1,289,587 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,067,668. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 2.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.75. SM Energy Company has a twelve month low of $19.67 and a twelve month high of $47.69.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.27. The firm 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. On average, equities research 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 was paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho boosted their target price on SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Susquehanna boosted their price target 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. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

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.