SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 135,058 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,045,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Palisade Capital Management LP grew its position in SM Energy by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,226,895 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,746,000 after acquiring an additional 383,616 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy by 2.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,705 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $19,578,000 after purchasing an additional 17,883 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 11.9% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 46,039 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 31.7% during the first quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 162,849 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,877,000 after purchasing an additional 39,165 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $23.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.14 and its 200 day moving average is $36.38. SM Energy has a one year low of $19.67 and a one year high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 3.75.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

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.