Insider Buying: SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Director Acquires 7,000 Shares of Stock

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

SM stock opened at $32.54 on Friday. SM Energy has a one year low of $32.17 and a one year high of $53.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 4.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SM. StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 3,434.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 3,897.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.