SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $29.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 4.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.40. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $26.66 and a 52 week high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. On average, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.98%.

Insider Activity

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $179,546,000 after buying an additional 835,929 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $103,998,000 after purchasing an additional 767,779 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,059,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 214.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 519,302 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $20,128,000 after purchasing an additional 354,297 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in SM Energy by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $142,718,000 after purchasing an additional 296,601 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.