Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 26,032 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,139 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,032 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC owned 0.36% of SM Energy worth $16,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,854 shares of the energy company's stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,237 shares of the energy company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.83.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of SM stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.75. 1,682,908 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,862,980. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $30.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.82. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $19.67 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 3.75. 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 - Get Free Report) last released 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $849.44 million. As a group, analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.