StockNews.com Downgrades SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SM. Susquehanna dropped their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of SM stock opened at $32.74 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.47. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 4.11. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $31.80 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. Equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3,434.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3,897.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.