SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Sold by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP cut its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 42,429 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 19,602 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,862 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 386,067 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $14,964,000 after purchasing an additional 29,428 shares during the period. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 105.8% during the 4th quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. now owns 20,271 shares of the energy company's stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 10,422 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 119,356 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 9,554 shares during the period. Finally, Gallo Partners LP acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens lowered their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.92.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock traded up $0.82 on Tuesday, hitting $25.61. The stock had a trading volume of 676,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,947,768. The company's 50 day moving average price is $25.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $19.67 and a 52-week high of $50.77.

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

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents 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. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.