Denali Advisors LLC Invests $4.36 Million in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 112,551 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,362,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $10,002,000 after purchasing an additional 80,343 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $259,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 79.2% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 65,421 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 28,920 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at about $3,048,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 144.6% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,357 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 13,215 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SM. Mizuho reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $33.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 4.11. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $32.96 and a 1-year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. On average, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

About SM Energy

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.