Diversify Advisory Services LLC Lowers Position in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 87.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,539 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 303,729 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,970 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,800 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,791,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,718 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,975 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,823 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 16th. Susquehanna lowered 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. KeyCorp lowered their target price on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.08.

SM Energy Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:SM traded down $0.76 on Friday, hitting $25.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,859,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,990,381. The business's fifty day moving average is $25.57 and its 200 day moving average is $29.65. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. SM Energy Company has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $47.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 27.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.20%.

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.