SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stake Boosted by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,739 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 605 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SM. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 2,515.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $178,404,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292,793 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in SM Energy by 2,217.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 818,032 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $32,697,000 after buying an additional 782,728 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in SM Energy by 267.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 391,107 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $15,633,000 after buying an additional 284,665 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in SM Energy by 136.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 484,119 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $19,350,000 after acquiring an additional 279,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 1,375.8% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 172,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,875,000 after acquiring an additional 160,345 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $39.42 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $36.13 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.09. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 4.11.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 11.17%.

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.