Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $9.06 Million Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,733 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,653 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.16% of SM Energy worth $9,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 509.7% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 665.6% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 66.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.49. 1,478,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,722,953. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 4.20. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $34.13 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.46. 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 (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $559.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.21 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.44.

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.