Palisade Capital Management LP Acquires New Shares in SM Energy Company $SM

Palisade Capital Management LP acquired a new position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 422,097 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,017,000. Palisade Capital Management LP owned 0.18% of SM Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Torren Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% in the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in SM Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho raised SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.93.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE SM opened at $35.71 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. SM Energy Company has a 12-month low of $17.45 and a 12-month high of $38.25.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

SM Energy Company 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.