Truist Financial Cuts SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target to $38.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price trimmed by Truist Financial from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the energy company’s stock.

SM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of SM Energy to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $52.33.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $39.96 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $34.13 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in SM Energy by 461.9% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 509.7% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 54.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in SM Energy by 63.9% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.