Xponance Inc. Buys 1,107 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Xponance Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,193 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in SM Energy by 66.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in SM Energy by 63.9% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in SM Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,403 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in SM Energy by 509.7% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $41.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.80 and a 200 day moving average of $46.37. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.78.

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.