SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Sold by Readystate Asset Management LP

Readystate Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,953 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,111,503 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $568,344,000 after acquiring an additional 224,029 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 13.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,002,705 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $272,755,000 after acquiring an additional 842,589 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,509,379 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $213,326,000 after acquiring an additional 493,427 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 35.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 849,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 3.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,277,349 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $64,130,000 after acquiring an additional 79,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE SM traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $48.03. 1,300,742 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,590,986. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $25.03 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.83.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.21 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on SM Energy from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price objective on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.86.

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.