Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $32.70 Million Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 2,217.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 818,032 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 782,728 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $32,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 72.6% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,305 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth about $200,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $819,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $42.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 4.18. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $34.13 and a 52-week high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.73.

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.