SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,762 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 85,213 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.12% of SM Energy worth $5,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SM. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,206 shares of the energy company's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 24,739 shares of the energy company's stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,214 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,237 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SM. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.00.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM stock traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,378,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,089. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $26.66 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 4.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.96 and a 200-day moving average of $39.47.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.98%.

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.