SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Bought by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,218 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,343 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.22% of SM Energy worth $10,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $889,000. First National Bank of Omaha raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 65,804 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,534 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth about $83,000. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $259,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.82.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $39.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.90. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $34.76 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 4.14.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.17%.

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.