Raymond James & Associates Trims Stock Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Raymond James & Associates cut its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 160,859 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 31,996 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.14% of SM Energy worth $6,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SM. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company's stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management grew its position in SM Energy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 8,361 shares of the energy company's stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY increased its stake in SM Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 7,630 shares of the energy company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,315 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SM traded down $0.28 on Tuesday, reaching $51.73. 1,817,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,597,478. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 4.20. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $44.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $25.03 and a 52 week high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. SM Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.71.

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.