SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Short Interest Down 17.7% in March

Key Points

• Short interest down 17.7% in March to 11,966,387 shares, equal to about 5.1% of the stock and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.9.
• SM beat Q4 EPS estimates ($0.83 vs. $0.73) despite a 17.3% year-over-year revenue decline, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 (annualized $0.88, ~3.1% yield).
• Market and analyst snapshot: Shares traded near $28.07 with a P/E of 4.97 and market cap of ~$6.73B; institutional ownership is ~94.56% and the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a $33.31 target.

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,966,387 shares, a decline of 17.7% from the March 15th total of 14,534,164 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,412,019 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 160.5% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.07. 3,556,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,969,822. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $26.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.13. SM Energy has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $33.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.78.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. SM Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SM shares. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings raised SM Energy from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered SM Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.31.

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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