GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $157,000 in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,225 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $535,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,488,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 77,729 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,082,000 after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in SM Energy by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 24,127 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 2,777 shares during the period. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $50.84 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.33. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.03 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.57.

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.