SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,796,326 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 414,296 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 3.32% of SM Energy worth $151,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,435 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 54,712 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $899,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 9,650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,950 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.64.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $38.76 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 4.15. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.76 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.17%.

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.