SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Shares Acquired by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 272.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 433,834 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 317,421 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of SM Energy worth $12,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 200.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 172.8% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $164,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE SM traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.50. 1,480,205 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,933,400. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.15. SM Energy Company has a 12 month low of $19.67 and a 12 month high of $47.69.

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

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.33.

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.