Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 76.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,441 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 621,591 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.17% of SM Energy worth $7,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 2,515.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $178,404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,793 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 267.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 391,107 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $15,633,000 after buying an additional 284,665 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 136.5% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 484,119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $19,350,000 after buying an additional 279,417 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 209.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,496 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $13,207,000 after acquiring an additional 206,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in SM Energy by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 411,103 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $17,772,000 after acquiring an additional 185,433 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE SM opened at $43.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 4.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52. SM Energy has a one year low of $34.90 and a one year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SM. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.90.

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.