Gallo Partners LP Takes Position in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Gallo Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 24,000 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $930,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in SM Energy by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $179,546,000 after acquiring an additional 835,929 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $142,718,000 after buying an additional 296,601 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in SM Energy by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $103,998,000 after acquiring an additional 767,779 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in SM Energy by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,449,483 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $56,182,000 after buying an additional 140,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $48,676,000 after acquiring an additional 32,803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

SM Energy stock opened at $23.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 3.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.38.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. On average, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.98%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.