Truist Financial Cuts SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target to $49.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price lowered by Truist Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised SM Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Mizuho increased their price target on SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Susquehanna increased their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $54.89.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $45.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 4.20. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $29.51 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. The company had revenue of $559.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.21 million. On average, equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $804,480.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 54.9% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 66.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.