Empowered Funds LLC Purchases New Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 74,383 SM Energy shares worth approximately $1.94 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 94.56% of the company.
• SM Energy reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.19 surpassing estimates of $1.96 and revenue rising 215.3% year over year to $2.50 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.88 payout and a 2.3% yield, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $37.93.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 74,383 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,941,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Torren Management LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SM Energy Stock Down 2.0%

SM opened at $37.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.89. SM Energy Company has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $38.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SM. Zacks Research downgraded SM Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen cut SM Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on SM Energy in a report on Thursday. They set a "sell" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Stephens dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.93.

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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