William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,008,880 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,833 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $50,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SM. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 509.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 54.9% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 665.6% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.0 %

SM Energy stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,484,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,358. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $32.97 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $559.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.21 million. As a group, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SM has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.89.

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.