SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Holdings Lowered by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 511,462 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 295,115 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.45% of SM Energy worth $19,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 worth $179,546,000 after purchasing an additional 835,929 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in SM Energy by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock worth $103,998,000 after purchasing an additional 767,779 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,059,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 214.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 519,302 shares of the energy company's stock worth $20,128,000 after purchasing an additional 354,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock worth $142,718,000 after purchasing an additional 296,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $23.17. 1,507,039 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,968,161. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 2.17. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.32.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were given 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 yield of 3.45%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.20%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 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, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on SM. Wall Street Zen downgraded SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lowered their price target on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.92.

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.