SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Holdings Raised by abrdn plc

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 466,552 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 28,425 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.41% of SM Energy worth $18,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at about $5,614,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 1,733.5% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 102,307 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 96,727 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $710,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 4.8% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 593,241 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,646,000 after buying an additional 27,405 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in SM Energy by 19.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 764,118 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $38,093,000 after buying an additional 124,450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.28. 3,378,889 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,741,451. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.30. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $34.13 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 11.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.18.

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.