Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,869 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,371 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of SM Energy worth $5,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 294.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,064 shares of the energy company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3,772.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the energy company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.84. 1,121,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,568,122. SM Energy has a one year low of $25.03 and a one year high of $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.37 and a 200 day moving average of $41.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 10.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SM. Mizuho lifted their target price on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.57.

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.