Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 158,509 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 684,451 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 158,509 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.60% of SM Energy worth $29,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,992,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,614,000. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1,733.5% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 102,307 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 96,727 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,103 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $61,685,000 after buying an additional 64,781 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter valued at $710,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.22.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $46.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.55. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.29%.

About SM Energy

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.