Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Acquires 56,160 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) by 96.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 114,609 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,160 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $2,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 160.5% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in SM Energy by 316.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,200 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 220.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,430 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Up 3.1%

SM opened at $31.41 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. SM Energy Company has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $33.25. The firm has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.73.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The business had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 15.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho set a $34.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.62.

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.