47,704 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM Purchased by VestGen Advisors LLC

VestGen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 47,704 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,611,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 211.2% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Mizuho set a $39.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.59.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM opened at $40.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.95. SM Energy Company has a 12-month low of $17.45 and a 12-month high of $41.56.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,379.10. The trade was a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include acquiring prospective acreage, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing properties in U.S. onshore oil and gas basins.

The company’s operations are primarily concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford shale region in South Texas. SM Energy focuses on development of unconventional resources and uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to produce hydrocarbons from shale and other tight-rock formations.

Founded in 1908 as St.