SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Sold by Foundry Partners LLC

Foundry Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,580 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,470 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 78,729 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 151,869 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,880,000 after purchasing an additional 24,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in SM Energy by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,471 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $49.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.13. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $25.03 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SM. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.57.

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.