Palisade Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in SM Energy Company $SM

Palisade Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 422,097 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,017,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SM. Torren Management LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth $33,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial upped their target price on SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SM Energy Stock Down 2.1%

SM stock 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. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.49 and its 200 day moving average is $29.10. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $38.25.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. The business 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 revenue was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.36 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

SM Energy Company 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.