SM Energy (NYSE:SM) SVP Sells $804,480.00 in Stock

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $48.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $25.84 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 4.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.68 and its 200 day moving average is $42.42.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $559.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.21 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SM. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.57.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 509.7% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 54.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 665.6% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in SM Energy by 59.7% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

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.