Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Reduces Stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd cut its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 74.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,971 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 65,407 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd's holdings in SM Energy were worth $878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 6.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,341,875 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $274,161,000 after acquiring an additional 384,675 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 2,515.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $178,404,000 after buying an additional 4,292,793 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,361,149 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $102,072,000 after buying an additional 28,005 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,792,573 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $71,649,000 after buying an additional 12,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 10.2% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,709,927 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $73,920,000 after buying an additional 157,923 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

SM traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.83. 703,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,693,782. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.56. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $34.13 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. SM Energy's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is a positive change from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho dropped their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SM Energy from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.09.

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.