Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,273 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,435 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SM. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $3,373,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 574,120 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $22,230,000 after purchasing an additional 123,126 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 90.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 169,483 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,720,000 after purchasing an additional 80,653 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,492,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $270,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of SM traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 97,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,245. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.59 and its 200 day moving average is $41.72. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 4.21. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $25.03 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SM shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.57.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.