SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,825 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,410 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of SM Energy worth $2,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $852,000. Flat Footed LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,371,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its position in SM Energy by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 20,371 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 848.7% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 877,739 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,986,000 after purchasing an additional 785,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $530,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho reduced their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.40.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of SM stock opened at $45.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 4.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.71 and a 200-day moving average of $46.27. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 12.54%.

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.