Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires New Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 25,396 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in SM Energy by 461.9% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 63.9% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 3,434.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.09.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $45.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.50. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $34.13 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.17%.

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.