Short Interest in SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SD) Drops By 14.4%

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SD) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,632,372 shares, a decline of 14.4% from the February 12th total of 1,905,891 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 292,075 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 292,075 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SD. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in SandRidge Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $450,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in SandRidge Energy by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,107,341 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $11,981,000 after acquiring an additional 72,537 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in SandRidge Energy by 138.0% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 32,134 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 18,631 shares during the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. raised its position in SandRidge Energy by 39.2% during the third quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 481,704 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,434,000 after acquiring an additional 135,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SandRidge Energy by 7.3% in the second quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 1,238,581 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $13,401,000 after purchasing an additional 83,959 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SD. Freedom Capital cut SandRidge Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen cut SandRidge Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised SandRidge Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

SandRidge Energy Stock Performance

SD traded up $0.36 on Tuesday, hitting $16.84. 404,131 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 377,071. SandRidge Energy has a fifty-two week low of $8.81 and a fifty-two week high of $18.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $620.33 million, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $16.20 and its 200 day moving average is $14.05.

SandRidge Energy (NYSE:SD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $39.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.70 million. SandRidge Energy had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 44.90%.

SandRidge Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. SandRidge Energy’s payout ratio is presently 25.26%.

About SandRidge Energy

SandRidge Energy, Inc (NYSE: SD) is an independent exploration and production company focused on the development of onshore oil and natural gas resources in the United States. The company concentrates its operations primarily in the Anadarko Basin, applying horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing techniques to exploit unconventional reservoirs. SandRidge’s asset portfolio includes both crude oil and natural gas liquids, complemented by associated gas production, with infrastructure investments designed to optimize midstream availability and enhance capital efficiency.

Founded in 2006 by industry veteran Tom L.