Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $666,000 in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,186 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $666,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SM. Barclays PLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $10,002,000 after acquiring an additional 80,343 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $259,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 79.2% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 65,421 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 28,920 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $3,048,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 144.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,357 shares of the energy company's stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 13,215 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Remove Ads

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,255,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,324. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $37.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.58. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $26.66 and a 1-year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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. Analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.