Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 76,908 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $2,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in SM Energy by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 48,119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 4,471 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 0.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 339,791 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $13,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,015,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in SM Energy by 245.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 38,430 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,536,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 34,102 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 6,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SM. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reduced their price target on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $29.94 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $26.66 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 4.14.

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

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is 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.