Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Grows Stock Holdings in SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in SM Energy by 42.4% in Q4 to 362,741 shares (about 0.32% of the company), valued at roughly $6.8 million.
• SM Energy beat EPS estimates (Q: $0.83 vs. $0.73) despite revenue declining 17.3% year-over-year to $704.9M, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 (about a 3.0% yield).
• Valuation and analyst view: SM trades at a P/E of 5.15 with a $6.97B market cap, and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $33.62.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 42.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,741 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 107,975 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.32% of SM Energy worth $6,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 316.7% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,200 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 220.6% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,430 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 201.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,776 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.1%

SM opened at $29.09 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. SM Energy Company has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $33.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.78.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 20.55%.The business had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $764.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 15.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SM Energy from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research upgraded SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.62.

SM Energy 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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