Scientech Research LLC Makes New $892,000 Investment in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 20,638 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SM. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 509.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 54.9% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 461.9% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 66.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $39.81 on Friday. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.00 and its 200 day moving average is $46.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $616.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. SM Energy’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.22.

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.