SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.18

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 26th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share by the energy company on Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th.

SM Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 210.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. SM Energy has a payout ratio of 5.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect SM Energy to earn $6.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.9%.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

SM stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $49.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,038,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,628. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 4.20. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $25.03 and a 12 month high of $49.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.49.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.86.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Profund Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 8,361 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 7,630 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 48,824 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in SM Energy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,534 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.