Citigroup Inc. Sells 37,821 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Citigroup Inc. decreased its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,569 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 37,821 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of SM Energy worth $6,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,111,503 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $568,344,000 after buying an additional 224,029 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,002,705 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $272,755,000 after purchasing an additional 842,589 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 35.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,249,967 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $126,586,000 after purchasing an additional 849,019 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in SM Energy by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,607,292 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $90,813,000 after purchasing an additional 145,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 11.3% in the first quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,315,048 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $65,192,000 after purchasing an additional 235,666 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SM shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, July 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on SM Energy from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on SM Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Patrick A. Lytle sold 6,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total value of $249,759.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,369.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 15,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.14, for a total transaction of $644,663.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 73,685 shares in the company, valued at $3,031,400.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Patrick A. Lytle sold 6,494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total transaction of $249,759.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,369.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,164 shares of company stock valued at $2,083,923. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $42.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $24.66 and a 52-week high of $48.55. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 4.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.06.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The energy company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $550.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.46 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 41.36% and a return on equity of 22.48%. Equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 5.66 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 21st were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a yield of 1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 20th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 6.80%.

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 also has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.