LPL Financial LLC Increases Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 80.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,333 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,140 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SM. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company's stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,237 shares of the energy company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of SM traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,060,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,872,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 3.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.39. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $51.94.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.83.

SM Energy 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.