Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,593,103 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 64,781 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.37% of SM Energy worth $61,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 294.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,064 shares of the energy company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 3,772.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the energy company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in SM Energy by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SM traded down $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $48.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,763,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,447. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $25.47 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The business's fifty day moving average is $49.30 and its 200 day moving average is $42.07. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 4.21.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business's revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SM shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.57.

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.