Man Group plc Acquires Shares of 45,981 SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Man Group acquired 45,981 SM Energy shares worth approximately $1.2 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.56% of the company.
• SM Energy reported quarterly EPS of $2.19, beating estimates of $1.96, while revenue reached $2.50 billion and surged 215.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, equivalent to a 2.3% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $37.93; shares recently traded at $38.38 after reaching a 52-week high of $38.94.

Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 45,981 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,200,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the second quarter valued at $378,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in SM Energy by 79.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $311,678,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,751 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $199,602,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in SM Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,257,360 shares of the energy company's stock worth $118,267,000 after acquiring an additional 107,295 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $38.38 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $31.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.75. SM Energy Company has a 1-year low of $17.45 and a 1-year high of $38.94.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SM. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Siebert Williams Shank raised SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.93.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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