SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Short Interest Update

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 15,185,089 shares, an increase of 88.4% from the January 15th total of 8,061,182 shares. Currently, 13.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,554,514 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,554,514 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 13.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SM shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on SM Energy from $36.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho set a $34.00 price objective on SM Energy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.20.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,429,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,434,909. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.14. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 102.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,911 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in SM Energy by 245.0% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 72,016 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after buying an additional 51,140 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,450,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 13,160 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 166,554 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,115,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.