SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Rating Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on SM. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.82.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $29.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.57. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $17.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.58. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 0.80.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.06). SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 13.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 167.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.00 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 21.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at $479,457. This represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,379.10. The trade was a 54.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,109 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 0.8% in the third quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 36,913 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in SM Energy by 1.8% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 18,006 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,409 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 3.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,108 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company is an independent oil and gas company focused on acquiring, exploring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations are concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in the Permian Basin and the South Texas region.

The company’s business includes developing oil and gas properties and managing the infrastructure and operations needed to bring production to market. Its portfolio has evolved over time as SM Energy has made acquisitions and divested assets to focus on its core areas.

Founded in 1908 as St.