Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 2,054 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,049 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 3,897.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp dropped their price target on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of 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. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:SM opened at $40.13 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 $34.90 and a 12 month high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.76 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.17%.

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.