Meeder Asset Management Inc. Trims Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,374 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 18,450 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $2,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 79.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $311,678,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,751 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3,932.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 4,562 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 88.9% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,161 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in SM Energy by 87.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 424,233 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $13,228,000 after purchasing an additional 197,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in SM Energy by 132.6% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 475,818 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $14,836,000 after purchasing an additional 271,292 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SM shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on SM Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.93.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE SM opened at $31.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.50. SM Energy Company has a 12 month low of $17.45 and a 12 month high of $35.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.73.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 36.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the sale, the director directly owned 65,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,456.72. This represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

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.