SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stake Lowered by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 65.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,383 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 126,742 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.06% of SM Energy worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 47.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company's stock worth $10,002,000 after purchasing an additional 80,343 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 46.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $342,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in SM Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 12,876 shares of the energy company's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $34.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.42.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE SM traded down $0.36 on Wednesday, hitting $24.88. The company had a trading volume of 229,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,978,016. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $19.67 and a 12-month high of $50.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.04.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The firm 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 business posted $1.13 earnings per share. SM Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.20%.

SM Energy 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.