CX Institutional Trims Holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

CX Institutional cut its holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 79.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,330 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 16,315 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional's holdings in SM Energy were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted 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. Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 25,119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,624 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,822 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $24,644,000 after purchasing an additional 24,701 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth $396,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 393,864 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $15,266,000 after buying an additional 7,887 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Trading Down 1.4%

SM Energy stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.55. 2,256,109 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,021,637. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.72. SM Energy Company has a fifty-two week low of $19.67 and a fifty-two week high of $50.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 2.19.

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

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 target price (up previously from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.08.

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.