Empowered Funds LLC Trims Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 37.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 199,264 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 121,373 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $7,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SM. CWM LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 11.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in SM Energy by 63.9% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in SM Energy by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,403 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE SM opened at $43.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.85. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SM shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.73.

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.