Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 45,869 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its SM Energy position by 78.9% in the first quarter, buying 45,869 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 103,968 shares worth about $3.24 million.
• SM Energy reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.55 per share versus the $1.13 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.48 billion, up 75% year over year.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders through a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.8%, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $36.93.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 78.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,968 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,869 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in SM Energy were worth $3,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SM. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth $15,207,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $284,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in SM Energy by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 33,014 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 16,135 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $260,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $974,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $31.37 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.41. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $35.88. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. SM Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy's payout ratio is 36.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on SM Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho reduced their price target on SM Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna raised their price target on SM Energy from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the sale, the director owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,456.72. This represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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