SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Holdings Decreased by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 560,381 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 32,860 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $22,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SM. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,614,000. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1,733.5% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 102,307 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,100,000 after acquiring an additional 96,727 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth $710,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 19.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 764,118 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $38,093,000 after acquiring an additional 124,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 74.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 98,591 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,915,000 after acquiring an additional 42,122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $44.66. 238,676 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,748,570. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 4.18. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 12.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.40.

SM Energy 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.