CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,823 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SM. Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,206 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,800 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in SM Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 28,091 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 24,739 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Trading Down 12.1 %

SM opened at $22.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 3.75. 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 12-month low of $21.13 and a 12-month high of $53.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.99.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. As a group, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SM shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

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.