SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. Purchases 7,000 Shares

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $32.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.16 and a 200-day moving average of $41.47. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 4.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. SM Energy has a one year low of $31.80 and a one year high of $53.26.

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

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,353,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in SM Energy by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 97,424 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,776,000 after buying an additional 9,080 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management increased its holdings in SM Energy by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 84,933 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,292,000 after buying an additional 25,507 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 26,874 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,118,297 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $82,105,000 after buying an additional 42,297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.90.

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.