Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Takes $2.87 Million Position in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management opened a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter, buying 92,007 shares valued at about $2.87 million.
• SM Energy shares fell 2.0% to $27.76, while the stock remains supported by strong institutional ownership, with investors holding 94.56% of shares.
• The company beat its latest quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.55 EPS on revenue of $1.48 billion, and it also paid a $0.22 quarterly dividend yielding about 3.2%.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 92,007 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $2,869,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 160.5% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of SM Energy stock traded down $0.58 on Friday, hitting $27.76. 2,391,550 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,034,266. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $35.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.96. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.73.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on SM Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Raymond James Financial upgraded SM Energy from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens lowered their price target on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of SM Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,456.72. The trade was a 27.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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