EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $409,000 in SM Energy Company $SM

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,678 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM opened at $35.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.73. SM Energy Company has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $38.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 7.36 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SM Energy news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,379.10. The trade was a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.