Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 13,353 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,849 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 13,353 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 11.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in SM Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 7.0% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in SM Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,403 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in SM Energy by 16.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $38.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.76 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their target price on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.64.

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.