SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives $50.64 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment 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. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.64.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens lifted their price target on SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in SM Energy by 461.9% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3,434.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 3,897.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SM stock opened at $36.59 on Thursday. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.76 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 4.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.17%.

SM Energy Company 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.