Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Vanguard Group reduced its SM Energy stake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, though it still owned 13.52 million shares worth about $252.8 million, or roughly 11.8% of the company.
• SM Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $1.55 per share on revenue of $1.48 billion, both above analyst estimates, with revenue up 75% from a year earlier.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $33.62.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,520,158 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 337,049 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.80% of SM Energy worth $252,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in SM Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,921,769 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $147,876,000 after buying an additional 30,951 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,585,624 shares of the energy company's stock worth $114,503,000 after buying an additional 375,754 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 198.9% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,429,518 shares of the energy company's stock worth $60,665,000 after buying an additional 1,616,822 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,323,065 shares of the energy company's stock worth $58,007,000 after buying an additional 33,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in SM Energy by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,756,496 shares of the energy company's stock worth $43,860,000 after purchasing an additional 612,444 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of SM stock opened at $29.42 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $28.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.73. SM Energy Company has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $33.25.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company's revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $33.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.62.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company NYSE: SM is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy's operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company's core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.

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