Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Makes New $1.18 Million Investment in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 30,545 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,184,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.00.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.15. 1,756,346 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,944,387. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.29. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $51.22. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 2.17.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 11.20%.

Insider Activity

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Profile

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.