Advisors Preferred LLC Invests $1.41 Million in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 47,360 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,410,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Readystate Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 60.9% during the 1st quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 15,899 shares of the energy company's stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 6,018 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,280,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 145.1% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,393 shares of the energy company's stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 12,074 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 149.3% during the 1st quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 20,458 shares of the energy company's stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 12,252 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 349.4% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 20,642 shares of the energy company's stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 16,049 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Stephens dropped their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna increased their price target on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial cut SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.33.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,480,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,933,400. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.25. SM Energy Company has a fifty-two week low of $19.67 and a fifty-two week high of $47.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 27.61% and a return on equity of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's payout ratio is presently 11.20%.

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.