Aberdeen Group plc Buys 23,364 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 582,652 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,364 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.51% of SM Energy worth $14,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,179,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in SM Energy by 182.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,082,414 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,746,000 after acquiring an additional 699,115 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 136.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,185,762 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,608,000 after purchasing an additional 685,118 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,731,350 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $92,202,000 after purchasing an additional 524,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,289,314 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $56,569,000 after acquiring an additional 415,454 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SM completed its merger with Civitas Resources, creating a larger E&P operator with greater scale in core U.S. basins; the deal increases production and potential cost synergies that support forward cash flow expectations. SM Energy Completes Merger
• Positive Sentiment: SM agreed to sell select South Texas (Galvan Ranch) assets to Caturus Energy for $950 million in cash. Management says proceeds will be used to accelerate deleveraging and strengthen the capital structure — a clear near-term positive for credit metrics and dividend/return optionality. SM Asset Sale Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has improved modestly: Zacks upgraded SM from “strong sell” to “hold,” reducing near-term downside risk from analyst coverage changes. Zacks Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SM was named among lists of attractive crude-oil names, which may support investor interest but is primarily reputational and longer-term in effect. SM Inclusion in Oil Stock Lists
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect a decline in reported earnings for the upcoming quarter; an earnings miss or weak guidance could pressure the stock despite the asset sale and merger tailwinds. Earnings Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: SM is scheduled to release earnings soon; results and management commentary will likely determine whether the recent positive momentum is sustained. Earnings Release Notice

SM Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $23.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. SM Energy Company has a fifty-two week low of $17.45 and a fifty-two week high of $39.40.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Zacks Research upgraded SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens upped their target price on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.20.

About SM Energy

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.