BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 10,303 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,127 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 10,303 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SM. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 517.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in SM Energy by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in SM Energy by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:SM opened at $23.71 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.06 and a 200 day moving average of $34.40. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $50.77. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 2.17.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.