100,300 Shares in SM Energy Company $SM Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 100,300 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,127,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 205.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $53,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,255 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 268.3% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,271,757 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $42,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654,891 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in SM Energy by 198.9% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,429,518 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $60,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616,822 shares in the last quarter. Sagefield Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $20,275,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,179,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $26.30 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. SM Energy Company has a 1-year low of $17.45 and a 1-year high of $35.88. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.72.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 36.97%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of SM Energy from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

SM Energy Profile

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.