Sciencast Management LP Buys Shares of 27,757 SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,757 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,076,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth about $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 3,470 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SM. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reduced their price target on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $30.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $26.66 and a 12-month high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. On average, analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.98%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.