Caxton Associates LLP Acquires New Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired a new stake in SM Energy Company, purchasing 147,041 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million, representing around 0.13% of the company's stock.
• Several large investors, including Captrust Financial Advisors and Deutsche Bank AG, have recently increased their holdings in SM Energy, contributing to 94.56% institutional ownership of the company.
• SM Energy reported earnings exceeding analyst estimates, with a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 18.06%, though its stock has seen a 4.8% decline recently.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 147,041 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $4,404,000. Caxton Associates LLP owned about 0.13% of SM Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,718 shares of the energy company's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,017 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,688 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,258 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,534 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.50.

SM Energy Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:SM traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.74. 1,294,835 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,612,430. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 2.46. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.21. SM Energy Company has a 12-month low of $19.67 and a 12-month high of $46.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.58 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.30%.

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.