Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 32,803 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,255,841 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,803 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.10% of SM Energy worth $48,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $29.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $26.66 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.31.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. As a group, equities analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SM. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.