Archer Investment Corp Purchases 1,930 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 9,650.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,950 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,509,379 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $213,326,000 after acquiring an additional 493,427 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $61,685,000 after acquiring an additional 64,781 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,552,004 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $77,367,000 after acquiring an additional 258,733 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,335,624 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $57,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,611 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,077,231 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,710,000 after acquiring an additional 198,473 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SM shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.22.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $41.78 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.58 and a 200-day moving average of $46.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $616.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.29%.

About SM Energy

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.