Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $14.96 Million Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,067 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 29,428 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of SM Energy worth $14,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 517.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in SM Energy by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company's stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in SM Energy by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company's stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM traded up $1.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $24.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,230,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,875. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 2.17. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $19.67 and a 12 month high of $50.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.19.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

About SM Energy

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.