Wall Street Zen Downgrades SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to Buy

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.93.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $37.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.22 and a 200 day moving average of $29.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $38.25.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. The trade was a 54.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.