Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $571,000 Stock Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 80.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,278 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 57,634 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in SM Energy were worth $571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 461.9% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3,434.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 3,897.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 9,650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,950 shares of the energy company's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of SM stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.06. 314,182 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,676,182. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $43.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $34.13 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 4.15.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SM. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Stephens boosted their price target on SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

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.