Rafferty Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in SM Energy Company by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, holding approximately $5.25 million worth of shares.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for SM Energy, with Susquehanna raising their target from $24.00 to $27.00, while Wells Fargo decreased theirs from $33.00 to $29.00.
• The company reported a strong quarterly earnings result, achieving $1.50 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations by $0.27 and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 25.0%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 175,413 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 18,555 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.15% of SM Energy worth $5,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SM. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in SM Energy by 69.5% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,017 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 200.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1,097.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,138 shares of the energy company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 172.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Susquehanna lifted 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. TD Cowen raised shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.50.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.05. 927,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,241,537. SM Energy Company has a 1-year low of $19.67 and a 1-year high of $46.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 2.47. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $26.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.64.

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

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.