SM Energy Company $SM Shares Acquired by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors increased its SM Energy stake by 135.8% in the second quarter, holding 57,623 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.56% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $39.38, although individual targets have ranged from $46 to $52.
• SM Energy reported strong quarterly results, including $2.19 in EPS and $2.50 billion in revenue, while higher oil prices and improved production guidance supported the outlook. However, executives recently sold shares, providing a counterpoint to the positive fundamentals.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 135.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,623 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,181 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 2,989 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter valued at $1,489,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $70,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in SM Energy by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 18,006 shares of the energy company's stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in SM Energy by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,152 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 7,223 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SM. Zacks Research cut SM Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of SM Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.38.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at $479,457. This represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting SM Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases: UBS raised its price target on SM Energy from $36 to $48 and assigned a “Buy” rating. Separately, another analyst lifted the target to $46 while maintaining a positive view, providing a direct catalyst for the move. SM Energy target increase report SM Energy analyst target and crude prices report
• Positive Sentiment: Higher oil prices: Crude prices strengthened amid concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East. Higher commodity prices can improve revenue, cash flow and valuation expectations for oil-focused producers such as SM Energy. SM Energy sector-wide rally report
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental support: Recent results showed strong revenue and earnings growth, raised second-half production guidance, record operating cash flow and continued debt reduction. The company also reported substantial progress toward merger-related synergies and retired senior notes due through mid-2028, strengthening its balance-sheet narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning was mixed: Several large investors added SM shares during the second quarter, but other funds reduced their holdings. This suggests broad interest without a uniformly bullish institutional signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Three insiders sold shares during the past six months, with no reported open-market purchases. While these transactions may be routine, they represent a modest counterpoint to the positive analyst and commodity-price catalysts.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $41.25 on Wednesday. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $41.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. On average, analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. SM Energy's payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company NYSE: SM is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on acquiring and developing oil and gas properties and producing hydrocarbons from onshore assets in the United States.

The company's principal operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and the South Texas region. SM Energy has also expanded its U.S. operating portfolio through acquisitions, including assets in Utah's Uinta Basin.

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