Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 606,816 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 22,607 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of SM Energy worth $15,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 316.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,200 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 220.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,430 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in SM Energy by 201.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,776 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,010 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Down 4.3%

NYSE:SM opened at $24.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.72. SM Energy Company has a 1-year low of $17.45 and a 1-year high of $32.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 20.55%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. KeyCorp cut their target price on SM Energy from $36.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings cut SM Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.22.

SM Energy Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.