Oxford Asset Management LLP Acquires New Holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,265 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SM. Barclays PLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $10,002,000 after purchasing an additional 80,343 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,048,000. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $833,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,822 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $24,644,000 after acquiring an additional 24,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $396,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE SM opened at $23.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 3.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. SM Energy has a one year low of $19.67 and a one year high of $51.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.68.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $849.44 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SM. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

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.