HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Sells 100,500 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management cut its stake in SM Energy by 37.5%, selling 100,500 shares and leaving it with 167,523 shares valued at about $4.18M (0.15% of the company) per its latest 13F filing.
• SM Energy beat EPS estimates ($0.83 vs. $0.73) but saw quarterly revenue decline 17.3% year-over-year to $704.9M, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 (annualized $0.88) for a ~3.4% yield.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $30.00, while the stock trades near $25.52 with a market capitalization of about $2.92B and a PE of 4.52.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 37.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,523 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 100,500 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned 0.15% of SM Energy worth $4,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in SM Energy by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,010 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. First National Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.8% during the third quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 12,604 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,701 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 108,074 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,699,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,613 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SM opened at $25.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average is $20.94 and its 200 day moving average is $21.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. SM Energy Company has a fifty-two week low of $17.45 and a fifty-two week high of $32.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The business had revenue of $704.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. SM Energy's quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This is a positive change from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SM Energy's payout ratio is 15.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on SM shares. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $34.00 price objective on SM Energy in a research report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.00.

About SM Energy

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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