Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Buys 42,297 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,118,297 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,297 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 1.85% of SM Energy worth $82,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $346,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 156,858 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,080,000 after buying an additional 7,303 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 34,482 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,337,000 after buying an additional 10,611 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in SM Energy by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,718 shares of the energy company's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $208,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.14. 1,602,130 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,968,964. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $19.67 and a 1 year high of $50.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 2.17. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 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 company had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. SM Energy's revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a $0.20 dividend. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens decreased their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.92.

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.