Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

by · The Markets Daily

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM – Free Report) by 135.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,623 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 33,181 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the second quarter valued at $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $378,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in SM Energy by 79.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $311,678,000 after buying an additional 4,426,751 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $199,602,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,257,807. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,457. This trade represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Key SM Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases: UBS raised its price target on SM Energy from $36 to $48 and assigned a “Buy” rating. Separately, another analyst lifted the target to $46 while maintaining a positive view, providing a direct catalyst for the move. SM Energy target increase report SM Energy analyst target and crude prices report
  • Positive Sentiment: Higher oil prices: Crude prices strengthened amid concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East. Higher commodity prices can improve revenue, cash flow and valuation expectations for oil-focused producers such as SM Energy. SM Energy sector-wide rally report
  • Positive Sentiment: Fundamental support: Recent results showed strong revenue and earnings growth, raised second-half production guidance, record operating cash flow and continued debt reduction. The company also reported substantial progress toward merger-related synergies and retired senior notes due through mid-2028, strengthening its balance-sheet narrative.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning was mixed: Several large investors added SM shares during the second quarter, but other funds reduced their holdings. This suggests broad interest without a uniformly bullish institutional signal.
  • Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Three insiders sold shares during the past six months, with no reported open-market purchases. While these transactions may be routine, they represent a modest counterpoint to the positive analyst and commodity-price catalysts.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho upgraded SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.38.

View Our Latest Analysis on SM Energy

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $41.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.75. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $41.56.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.32%.

About SM Energy

(Free Report)

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on acquiring and developing oil and gas properties and producing hydrocarbons from onshore assets in the United States.

The company’s principal operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and the South Texas region. SM Energy has also expanded its U.S. operating portfolio through acquisitions, including assets in Utah’s Uinta Basin.

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