SM Energy Company $SM Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds increased its SM Energy stake by 43.8% in the first quarter, purchasing 55,179 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 181,172 shares valued at approximately $5.65 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.56% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $36.53. Recent target changes ranged from $32 to $37.
• SM Energy reported first-quarter earnings of $1.55 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.42, while revenue rose 75% year over year to $1.48 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding about 2.7% annually.

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 43.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,172 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,179 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.08% of SM Energy worth $5,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in SM Energy by 96.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 114,609 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 56,160 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,610,000 after acquiring an additional 54,428 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 279.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 150,329 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,811,000 after acquiring an additional 110,735 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in SM Energy by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 666,070 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $12,456,000 after acquiring an additional 124,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth $682,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Capital upgraded SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research lowered SM Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna increased their target price on SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.53.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $32.42 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.73.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 65,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source