abrdn plc Purchases 28,425 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

abrdn plc grew its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 6.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 466,552 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 28,425 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $18,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 842,960 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $42,022,000 after buying an additional 91,507 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter worth $477,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 6.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 65,932 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,287,000 after buying an additional 3,768 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,434 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter valued at about $428,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Down 1.1 %

SM opened at $42.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.59 and a 200-day moving average of $45.40. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SM shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.73.

SM Energy Company 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.