Royce & Associates LP Has $8.09 Million Holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in SM Energy Company by 16.1%, owning approximately 270,060 shares valued at $8.08 million as of the latest reporting period.
• SM Energy reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $1.76, surpassing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60, while its quarterly revenue increased by 50.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share with a yield of 2.91%, set to be paid on August 4th to stockholders of record on July 18th.

Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 270,060 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,537 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.24% of SM Energy worth $8,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SM. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 200.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 172.8% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the energy company's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $164,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock traded down $0.67 on Wednesday, hitting $28.20. 253,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,281,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 2.16. SM Energy Company has a 1-year low of $19.67 and a 1-year high of $47.69. The company's fifty day moving average is $25.98 and its 200 day moving average is $28.96.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 27.61%. The business's revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.