Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 511,420 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.44% of SM Energy worth $19,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $50,075,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 848.7% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 877,739 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,986,000 after purchasing an additional 785,222 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,509,379 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $213,326,000 after purchasing an additional 493,427 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 44.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,163,332 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,126,000 after purchasing an additional 358,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at about $8,669,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $49.38 on Wednesday. SM Energy has a one year low of $29.15 and a one year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 4.16.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $559.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.21 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SM Energy news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SM. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.11.

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.