HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Invests $44.01 Million in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC has invested approximately $44 million in SM Energy Company, acquiring 1,469,289 shares, which now represents about 2.7% of its investment portfolio.
• SM Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.50, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20, yielding 3.1% annually, with a low dividend payout ratio of 11.30%.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,469,289 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $44,005,000. SM Energy accounts for about 2.7% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned 1.28% of SM Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,970 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,718 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 6.3% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,688 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,258 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in SM Energy by 3.6% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,534 shares of the energy company's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SM. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 16th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.50.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM traded up $0.3310 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.8410. The stock had a trading volume of 2,023,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,273,306. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.72 and a 200 day moving average of $27.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 2.29. SM Energy Company has a 52-week low of $19.67 and a 52-week high of $47.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.