Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Position in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in SM Energy Company by 16.9% during the first quarter, owning 446,759 shares valued at approximately $13.36 million.
• Several institutional investors raised their stakes in SM Energy, with notable increases including 114.1% by Russell Investments Group and 73.1% by Caitong International Asset Management Co.
• SM Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 446,759 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 64,648 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.39% of SM Energy worth $13,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SM. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,915 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $9,880,000 after buying an additional 4,697 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 196.5% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 18,878 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 12,511 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,526,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $103,998,000 after buying an additional 767,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 69,069 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,677,000 after buying an additional 3,070 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of SM traded up $1.7950 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.7150. 2,246,633 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,088,835. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. SM Energy Company has a 1 year low of $19.67 and a 1 year high of $47.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 2.29. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.08.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.27. SM Energy had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 25.94%.The firm had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $792.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SM shares. TD Cowen raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 16th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.50.

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.