Ethic Inc. Sells 13,433 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its holdings in SM Energy Company by 26.1%, now owning 37,987 shares valued at approximately $1.13 million.
• Institutional investors hold a significant majority of SM Energy's stock, with 94.56% ownership, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Recent analyst ratings for SM Energy indicate a consensus of Moderate Buy with a target price of $42.50, demonstrating mixed sentiment among analysts.

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 26.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,987 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 13,433 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SM. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in SM Energy by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,718 shares of the energy company's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 6.3% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,688 shares of the energy company's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,258 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,534 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 103,185 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,001,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $0.6080 during trading on Monday, reaching $28.3880. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,084,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,088,835. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 2.29. SM Energy Company has a 12 month low of $19.67 and a 12 month high of $47.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $26.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.02.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.58 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 25.94%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

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.