Ballentine Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,071 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $2,992,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,373,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 574,120 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $22,230,000 after purchasing an additional 123,126 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,103 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $61,685,000 after purchasing an additional 64,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 198,380 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after purchasing an additional 21,102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $48.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $29.51 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 4.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.72 and a 200-day moving average of $44.27.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $559.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.21 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.11.

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.