QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,746 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in SM Energy by 461.9% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 63.9% during the 2nd 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. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in SM Energy by 3,434.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE SM opened at $44.02 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The company had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 11.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SM. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Tudor Pickering upgraded SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.73.

SM Energy Company 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.