Bailard Inc. Cuts Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,700 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SM. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth $157,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 95,399 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,694,000 after buying an additional 5,986 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 629,627 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $24,379,000 after buying an additional 94,419 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of SM opened at $50.84 on Monday. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.03 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $47.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The business had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SM. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Seaport Res Ptn raised SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.57.

About SM Energy

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.