FIL Ltd Makes New $440,000 Investment in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

FIL Ltd purchased a new position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,362 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,206 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,800 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,791,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,975 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,823 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

SM Energy stock opened at $21.96 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $19.67 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 3.75.

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

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

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.