Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,413 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 14,089 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of SM Energy worth $4,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in SM Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $48,676,000 after buying an additional 32,803 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 517.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 214.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 519,302 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $20,128,000 after buying an additional 354,297 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,924,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,362,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $29.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a one year low of $26.66 and a one year high of $53.26.

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

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

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.