SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to Issue $0.20 Quarterly Dividend

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 26th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the energy company on Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%.

SM Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 210.7% annually over the last three years. SM Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 10.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect SM Energy to earn $7.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.1%.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $37.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.39. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 4.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $34.76 and a 1-year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.64.

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.