Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Makes New Investment in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in SM Energy Company by purchasing 57,800 shares valued at approximately $1.73 million, representing around 0.05% of the company.
• SM Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.50, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.23, with a revenue of $792.94 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 2.8%, and it has a payout ratio of 11.30%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 57,800 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,731,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.05% of SM Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 200.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1,097.9% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,138 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 172.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial cut SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.28. 2,173,670 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,585,103. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 2.46. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.30. 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 one year low of $19.67 and a one year high of $46.42.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $792.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $792.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

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

SM Energy 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.