SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,399 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 5,986 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of SM Energy worth $3,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SM. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at $46,492,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 72.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,054,503 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $81,461,000 after purchasing an additional 865,480 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth about $19,314,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 44.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,163,332 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,126,000 after purchasing an additional 358,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth about $8,669,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $50.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 4.20. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $25.03 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.19.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 10.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SM shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.57.

SM Energy 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.