De Lisle Partners LLP Buys 10,000 Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Key Points

• De Lisle Partners LLP increased its stake in SM Energy Company by 25%, acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total to 50,000 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million.
• The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.60, with revenue up 50.8% year-over-year, totaling $844.54 million.
• SM Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing a dividend yield of 2.79% and a payout ratio of 11.20%.

De Lisle Partners LLP grew its position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 25.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,000 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP's holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 201.7% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 37,357 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 24,973 shares during the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter worth $879,000. First National Advisers LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter worth $339,000. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 13.7% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 17,708 shares of the energy company's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in SM Energy by 16.1% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 270,060 shares of the energy company's stock worth $8,088,000 after purchasing an additional 37,537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Susquehanna upped their price target on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

SM Energy Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE SM traded down $0.96 on Friday, hitting $26.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,398,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,297,352. SM Energy Company has a 52-week low of $19.67 and a 52-week high of $47.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $26.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 2.16.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $792.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $792.58 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 27.61%. The business's revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. Research analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

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.