PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 3,816 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,401 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,816 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SM. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $50,075,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 72.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,054,503 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $81,461,000 after purchasing an additional 865,480 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 848.7% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 877,739 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,986,000 after purchasing an additional 785,222 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,509,379 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $213,326,000 after purchasing an additional 493,427 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 44.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,163,332 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,126,000 after purchasing an additional 358,253 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of SM Energy in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.63.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM stock opened at $48.13 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.04. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $27.98 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 4.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

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

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.29%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SM Energy 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.