Truist Financial Increases SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target to $45.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the energy company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna dropped their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM stock opened at $43.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 4.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.75. 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 has a 1 year low of $34.76 and a 1 year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.17%.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 135.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 379,660 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $16,413,000 after purchasing an additional 218,428 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 18.8% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,902 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 566,099 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $24,472,000 after purchasing an additional 75,754 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in SM Energy by 461.9% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 6.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,341,875 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $274,161,000 after purchasing an additional 384,675 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.