SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Holdings Lowered by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 121,025 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 66,225 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $4,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SM. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in SM Energy by 461.9% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 3,434.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 3,897.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.64.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $37.15 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $34.76 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 4.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.54.

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

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.17%.

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.