Tributary Capital Management LLC Sells 6,395 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Tributary Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 1.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 567,725 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 6,395 shares during the period. SM Energy comprises about 2.3% of Tributary Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Tributary Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SM Energy were worth $28,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,509,379 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $213,326,000 after acquiring an additional 493,427 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,103 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $61,685,000 after acquiring an additional 64,781 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 5.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,547,315 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $61,351,000 after acquiring an additional 83,588 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $50,075,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 44.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,163,332 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,126,000 after buying an additional 358,253 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SM traded up $0.43 on Monday, hitting $43.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,975,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,717,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 4.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.42 and a 200-day moving average of $44.49. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $29.51 and a 12-month high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $559.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.21 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. As a group, research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.69 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SM. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.89.

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.