Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 37.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 141,762 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 85,213 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in SM Energy were worth $5,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter worth about $55,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade 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 is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $31.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $26.66 and a 52 week high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. On average, equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 2.51%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.