California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 19,291 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 222,674 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 19,291 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.19% of SM Energy worth $8,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,315 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 15,415 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Up 5.0 %

SM stock traded up $2.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $50.13. 3,321,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,495. The firm's 50 day moving average is $48.07 and its 200 day moving average is $41.57. The firm has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 4.21. 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 twelve month low of $25.03 and a twelve month high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. SM Energy's quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy's payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.57.

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.