SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Hits New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

SM Energy (NYSE:SM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $49.93 and last traded at $49.51, with a volume of 59044 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.65.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho increased their price objective on SM Energy from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on SM Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.86.

SM Energy Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 561.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 880 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Company 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.