SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stake Lessened by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 80.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in SM Energy by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,341,875 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $274,161,000 after acquiring an additional 384,675 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 2,515.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $178,404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,793 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,361,149 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $102,072,000 after purchasing an additional 28,005 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,792,573 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $71,649,000 after purchasing an additional 12,669 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 10.2% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,709,927 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $73,920,000 after purchasing an additional 157,923 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $40.70 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 4.15.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. Equities analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SM. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Stephens raised their price target on SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy 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.