Meritage Portfolio Management Purchases 1,423 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,876 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SM. State Street Corp lifted its stake in SM Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,287,815 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $251,324,000 after acquiring an additional 114,664 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 2,515.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $178,404,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292,793 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,693,372 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $107,675,000 after acquiring an additional 29,911 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,792,573 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $71,649,000 after buying an additional 12,669 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,223,038 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $48,885,000 after buying an additional 22,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SM shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE SM opened at $37.21 on Friday. SM Energy has a one year low of $36.11 and a one year high of $53.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.44 and a 200 day moving average of $42.24. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 4.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.17%.

SM Energy 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.