SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Up 3.4% – Still a Buy?

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) was up 3.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $43.34 and last traded at $43.34. Approximately 177,371 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 1,754,829 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. 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 research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.40.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 4.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.33.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,805 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 9,793 shares in the last quarter. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $288,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,357,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,032 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 46.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,032,000 after purchasing an additional 14,848 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.