GAMMA Investing LLC Sells 1,636 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

GAMMA Investing LLC reduced its position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,426 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,636 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SM. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 11.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in SM Energy by 1.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,403 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in SM Energy by 16.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 461.9% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of SM opened at $42.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.89. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $34.76 and a 12-month high of $53.26.

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

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Susquehanna dropped their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.64.

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.