LSV Asset Management Invests $848,000 in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,900 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $848,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,373,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 574,120 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $22,230,000 after acquiring an additional 123,126 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in SM Energy by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 169,483 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $6,720,000 after acquiring an additional 80,653 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter worth $46,492,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter worth $270,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SM traded down $1.76 on Friday, reaching $49.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,164,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,580,002. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 4.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $25.20 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $48.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.85.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The company 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 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.86.

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.