Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires Shares of 77,631 SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management initiated a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter, buying 77,631 shares valued at about $2.42 million.
• Insider activity included Director Ramiro G. Peru selling 24,553 shares for roughly $834,000, trimming his ownership by about 27%.
• SM Energy reported solid results and shareholder returns, beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while also paying a $0.22 per share quarterly dividend for a 3.4% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 77,631 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $2,421,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SM. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 160.5% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp increased its stake in SM Energy by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,860 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SM Energy news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the sale, the director owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial raised shares of SM Energy from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SM Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SM Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM stock opened at $26.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.72. SM Energy Company has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $35.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.54.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy's payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company NYSE: SM is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy's operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company's core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.

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