13,695 Shares in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Bought by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 13,695 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in SM Energy by 848.7% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 877,739 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,986,000 after purchasing an additional 785,222 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 20,371 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Flat Footed LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,371,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $852,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,075,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SM. Stephens initiated coverage on SM Energy in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.63.

SM Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

SM stock opened at $48.13 on Friday. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $27.98 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 4.15.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. The firm had revenue of $559.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.21 million. Equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.29%.

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.