Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Takes $3.37 Million Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 87,114 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $3,373,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned approximately 0.07% of SM Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 561.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 880 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

SM traded up $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $52.41. 1,809,285 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,600,546. SM Energy has a one year low of $25.03 and a one year high of $53.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.31. The company has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.71.

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.