Congress Asset Management Co. Reduces Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,087,466 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,169 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.95% of SM Energy worth $42,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 393,864 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $15,266,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 546,956 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $21,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 41,159 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 30,264 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 66,069 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after purchasing an additional 30,343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. 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, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SM opened at $38.51 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 4.11. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $36.13 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.91.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.17%.

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.