Ashwin Venkatraman Sells 3,650 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM opened at $38.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.46. The stock has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.75. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $38.94.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 135.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 57,623 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 33,181 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,489,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 18,006 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.19.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on acquiring and developing oil and gas properties and producing hydrocarbons from onshore assets in the United States.

The company’s principal operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and the South Texas region. SM Energy has also expanded its U.S. operating portfolio through acquisitions, including assets in Utah’s Uinta Basin.