Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in SM Energy Company $SM

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) by 224.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,795 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,778 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SM. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 160.5% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in SM Energy by 10,461.5% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,456.72. This represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $31.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. SM Energy Company has a 12-month low of $17.45 and a 12-month high of $35.88.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The business’s revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. Analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 36.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on SM shares. Stephens dropped their target price on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Roth Capital raised shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.53.

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.