Kennedy Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) by 70.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,107 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 237,537 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.50% of SM Energy worth $14,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,010 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC grew its position in SM Energy by 4.8% during the third quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 12,604 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,701 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 108,074 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,613 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.55. 599,815 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,092,624. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. SM Energy Company has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $32.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.77.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 20.55%.The firm had revenue of $704.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $764.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 15.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SM shares. Siebert Williams Shank lowered SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

SM Energy Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.