Inspire Advisors LLC Has $604,000 Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 200.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,575 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,389 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 16.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 6.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $29.12 on Wednesday. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $26.66 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought 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 represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

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.