SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,199,510 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,686 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of SM Energy worth $589,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,287,815 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $251,324,000 after purchasing an additional 114,664 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $142,718,000 after buying an additional 296,601 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $107,675,000 after buying an additional 29,911 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 2.7% in 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 buying an additional 32,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,234,890 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $47,864,000 after acquiring an additional 25,857 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Seven investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $29.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $26.66 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.41 and a 200 day moving average of $39.35.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.67%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

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.