Magnetar Financial LLC Raises Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 202.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,787 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 27,981 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $1,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,206 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 24,739 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,214 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $30.91 on Friday. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $26.66 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.88.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. On average, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.