Fox Run Management L.L.C. Buys New Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,178 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SM. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,287,815 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $251,324,000 after purchasing an additional 114,664 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in SM Energy by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $142,718,000 after buying an additional 296,601 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,693,372 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $107,675,000 after buying an additional 29,911 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $48,676,000 after acquiring an additional 32,803 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,234,890 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $47,864,000 after acquiring an additional 25,857 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SM shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on 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 reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $30.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a one year low of $26.66 and a one year high of $53.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. As a group, analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.98%.

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.