SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 245.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,430 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in SM Energy by 461.9% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 3,434.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 3,897.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in SM Energy by 9,650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,950 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SM shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

SM Energy Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $40.18 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.25. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.17%.

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.