SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 39.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,406 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 6,227 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SM. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at $55,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 16.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $28.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $26.66 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.51. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. On average, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho dropped their target price on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

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.