Connors Investor Services Inc. Reduces Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Connors Investor Services Inc. cut its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,173 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,266 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 517.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in SM Energy by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $23.29 on Wednesday. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $19.67 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 3.75.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted 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 company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SM. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

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.