Baird Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,067 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing 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 reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in SM Energy by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock worth $179,546,000 after purchasing an additional 835,929 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock worth $142,718,000 after buying an additional 296,601 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $103,998,000 after purchasing an additional 767,779 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in SM Energy by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,449,483 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $56,182,000 after purchasing an additional 140,228 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in SM Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $48,676,000 after buying an additional 32,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Insider Activity

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,756,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,947,519. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $19.67 and a 52-week high of $50.77. The company's 50 day moving average price is $25.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.25.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.20%.

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.