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

Bailard Inc. lessened its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,700 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in SM Energy by 294.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,064 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 3,772.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James lowered 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. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.57.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM stock opened at $50.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.36. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $25.03 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. SM Energy’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

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

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.