Foundry Partners LLC Boosts Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,761 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,601 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $7,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,206 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,800 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,791,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,975 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,823 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SM. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Down 16.7 %

NYSE SM opened at $25.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.12. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.32 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 3.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. On average, analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

SM Energy Company 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.