Analysts Set SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) PT at $32.62

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.3077.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on SM Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded SM Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on SM Energy from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $27.67 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.05. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $33.25.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 91,916 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,753,000 after acquiring an additional 19,965 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 145,922 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,370,000 after buying an additional 44,542 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,111 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after buying an additional 2,969 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.