Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $17.44 Million Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 582,370 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,126 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.51% of SM Energy worth $17,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.42.

SM Energy Stock Up 3.6%

SM Energy stock traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,201,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,726. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $19.67 and a 12 month high of $50.20. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $23.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 2.19.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. SM Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 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.