Voloridge Investment Management LLC Has $45.53 Million Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,174,731 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 250,096 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 1.03% of SM Energy worth $45,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in SM Energy by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $179,546,000 after purchasing an additional 835,929 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock worth $103,998,000 after purchasing an additional 767,779 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $22,059,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 214.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 519,302 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $20,128,000 after buying an additional 354,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $142,718,000 after buying an additional 296,601 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $23.14. The 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 current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.94. SM Energy has a one year low of $19.67 and a one year high of $50.77. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. SM Energy's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. SM Energy's payout ratio is presently 11.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of 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 equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.92.

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.