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

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.73.

A number of brokerages have commented on SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 461.9% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 509.7% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in SM Energy by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $41.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 4.18. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $34.13 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.19.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.17%.

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.