Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Boosts Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. lifted its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 105.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,271 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,422 shares during the quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SM. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in SM Energy by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

SM Energy Trading Down 3.9 %

NYSE SM opened at $22.75 on Friday. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.01. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 3.75.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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.