Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 19,800 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 718,963 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 19,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $27,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in SM Energy by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $179,546,000 after purchasing an additional 835,929 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $142,718,000 after acquiring an additional 296,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,693,372 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $107,675,000 after acquiring an additional 29,911 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in SM Energy by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $48,676,000 after purchasing an additional 32,803 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,234,890 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $47,864,000 after purchasing an additional 25,857 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $21.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 3.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.06. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $19.67 and a fifty-two week high of $52.83.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The firm had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.