SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Bought by Moody Aldrich Partners LLC

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 132,267 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 31,582 shares during the quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $5,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in SM Energy by 3,434.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 3,897.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on SM shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $39.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52. SM Energy has a one year low of $34.90 and a one year high of $53.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.59.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.17%.

About SM Energy

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.