Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $2.62 Million Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,648 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 8,082 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.06% of SM Energy worth $2,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Down 4.1%

SM opened at $24.41 on Friday. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $19.67 and a 1-year high of $50.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 2.17.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The business had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SM shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.92.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 91.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.