Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,392 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM stock opened at $27.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.23 and a 200-day moving average of $40.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $26.66 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 4.14.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced 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). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.90%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.