34,913 Shares in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Acquired by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 34,913 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 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 grew its stake in 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 position in shares of SM Energy by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company's stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SM shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens lowered their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna decreased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.42.

SM Energy Stock Down 0.1%

SM stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.77. 868,841 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,306. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.56 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.52. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $19.67 and a 12-month high of $50.77.

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

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio 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.