Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $17.65 Million Stake in SM Energy Company $SM

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 944,067 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 47,735 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $17,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth $4,619,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at $1,190,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its position in SM Energy by 70.6% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 574,107 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $14,335,000 after purchasing an additional 237,537 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in SM Energy by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,610,000 after purchasing an additional 54,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its position in SM Energy by 22.6% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 356,608 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,905,000 after purchasing an additional 65,732 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $30.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.07.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM opened at $30.70 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.23 and a 200-day moving average of $23.75. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $35.88. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.97%.

About SM Energy

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.