Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $22.06 Million in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 569,118 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,059,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,413 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,512,000 after acquiring an additional 14,089 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $48,676,000 after acquiring an additional 32,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was 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 this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $26.66 and a 1 year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The business 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.