Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 48.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,700 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 10,850 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in SM Energy were worth $452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SM. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 47.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company's stock worth $10,002,000 after acquiring an additional 80,343 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,049 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 84,538 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,834 shares of the energy company's stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho lowered their price target on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Stephens lowered their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Seven investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.92.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SM traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,602,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,534. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 2.17. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $19.67 and a 12 month high of $50.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.07.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. SM Energy's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.46%. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.20%.

About SM Energy

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.