Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Purchases 5,713 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,991 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,713 shares during the period. SM Energy makes up approximately 1.2% of Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of SM Energy worth $8,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,315 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 15,415 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Down 4.6 %

SM Energy stock traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,109,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,301. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $25.03 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 4.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.44.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 10.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.57.

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.