Susquehanna Lowers SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target to $46.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price reduced by Susquehanna from $48.00 to $46.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the energy company’s stock.

SM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Tudor Pickering raised SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.73.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $43.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.05 and a 200-day moving average of $45.08. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $34.13 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 63.9% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in SM Energy during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in SM Energy by 3,434.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.