abrdn plc Lowers Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

abrdn plc lessened its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 382,111 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 84,441 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned about 0.33% of SM Energy worth $14,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $342,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 132,267 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,127,000 after purchasing an additional 31,582 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in SM Energy by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,834 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

SM opened at $37.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 4.11. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $36.13 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.