abrdn plc Sells 21,093 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

abrdn plc decreased its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 466,012 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 21,093 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.40% of SM Energy worth $18,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SM. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in SM Energy by 294.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,064 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 3,772.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

SM opened at $50.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.92 and its 200-day moving average is $41.19. The company has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 4.20. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $25.03 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SM. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 8th. KeyCorp increased their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.57.

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.