William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 243,682 Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 733,538 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 243,682 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.64% of SM Energy worth $28,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 16.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

SM Energy stock opened at $30.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $26.66 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.73 and a 200-day moving average of $40.00.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 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 business had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.98%.

Insider Activity

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

SM Energy 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.