BMO Capital Markets Trims SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Target Price to $48.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the energy company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Tudor Pickering raised SM Energy to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on SM Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $51.40.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $45.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.27. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 12.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in SM Energy by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,687 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,062 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,805 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 9,793 shares in the last quarter. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,357,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.