GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 23,907 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

GW&K Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 685,056 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 23,907 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $26,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in SM Energy by 294.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,064 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3,772.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 4.0 %

NYSE SM traded down $1.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.64. The stock had a trading volume of 209,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,552,714. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 4.21. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $25.84 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.33.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.29%.

Insider Activity

In other SM Energy news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SM. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. KeyCorp raised their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.57.

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.