SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Director Ashwin Venkatraman Sells 3,650 Shares of Stock

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,457. This trade represents a 22.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.2%

SM opened at $38.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.46. The company has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.75. SM Energy Company has a 52 week low of $17.45 and a 52 week high of $38.94.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 17.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 135.8% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 57,623 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after buying an additional 33,181 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,489,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 18,006 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Mizuho raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.19.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on acquiring and developing oil and gas properties and producing hydrocarbons from onshore assets in the United States.

The company’s principal operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and the South Texas region. SM Energy has also expanded its U.S. operating portfolio through acquisitions, including assets in Utah’s Uinta Basin.