NFJ Investment Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 74,479 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,977,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.07% of SM Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 461.9% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in SM Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3,434.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SM Energy from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.09.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $44.51 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $34.13 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 4.14.

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

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.17%.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.