Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 24,371 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,869 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,371 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.13% of SM Energy worth $5,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,373,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 574,120 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $22,230,000 after purchasing an additional 123,126 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in SM Energy by 90.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 169,483 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,720,000 after purchasing an additional 80,653 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,492,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $270,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.57.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:SM opened at $50.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $25.03 and a 1-year high of $53.26.

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

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.48%.

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.