Millennium Management LLC Buys 1,637,779 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in SM Energy Company by 663.7%, acquiring an additional 1,637,779 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 1,884,536 shares worth approximately $56.4 million.
• SM Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $1.50, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 25.0%, amounting to $792.94 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.0%, with a current payout ratio of 11.30%.

Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 663.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,884,536 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,637,779 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 1.65% of SM Energy worth $56,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,017 shares of the energy company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 200.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 1,097.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,138 shares of the energy company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 172.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 80.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Susquehanna raised their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.50.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock traded down $0.43 on Friday, hitting $26.76. 760,729 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,215,277. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 2.46. SM Energy Company has a 12-month low of $19.67 and a 12-month high of $46.42.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.27. SM Energy had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The company had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.30%.

About SM Energy

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.