Vanguard Group Inc. Has $457.32 Million Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy Company by 0.5%, now owning approximately 13.34% of the company, valued at $457.32 million.
• SM Energy reported earnings of $1.50 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 25% year-over-year revenue increase to $792.94 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20, which was paid to stockholders, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,269,443 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,933 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.34% of SM Energy worth $457,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,207,245 shares of the energy company's stock worth $96,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,948 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in SM Energy by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 12,733 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in SM Energy by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 462,291 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $13,846,000 after purchasing an additional 126,991 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $656,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 51,043 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.51. 1,419,223 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,043,404. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.38. SM Energy Company has a fifty-two week low of $19.67 and a fifty-two week high of $47.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SM. Susquehanna boosted their target price 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 boosted their price objective on shares of 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 report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.50.

SM Energy Company 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.