Gallo Partners LP Makes New Investment in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Gallo Partners LP acquired a new position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,000 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $930,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in SM Energy by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $179,546,000 after buying an additional 835,929 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $142,718,000 after acquiring an additional 296,601 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $103,998,000 after purchasing an additional 767,779 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,449,483 shares of the energy company's stock worth $56,182,000 after purchasing an additional 140,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company's stock worth $48,676,000 after buying an additional 32,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James reduced their target price on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.00.

SM Energy Stock Down 3.9 %

NYSE SM traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,659,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,025. The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.50 and its 200 day moving average is $36.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 2.17. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $19.67 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.