Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 624,869 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 175,164 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.55% of SM Energy worth $24,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SM. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 3,470 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company's stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company's stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

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

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,756,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,947,519. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The stock's 50 day moving average is $25.57 and its 200 day moving average is $35.19. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $19.67 and a twelve month high of $50.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 2.17.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SM shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.00.

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.