Gallo Partners LP Purchases Shares of 24,000 SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Gallo Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 24,000 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $930,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in SM Energy by 517.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in SM Energy by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM traded down $1.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,282,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,909,170. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $19.67 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $26.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.20%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

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.