Man Group plc Decreases Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Man Group plc trimmed its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,933 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 123,454 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.17% of SM Energy worth $7,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in SM Energy by 517.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings 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 valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Tuesday, March 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $23.14. 1,602,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,971,534. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $19.67 and a 1-year high of $50.77. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $24.64 and a 200-day moving average of $33.94. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 2.17.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.