Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Sector Perform” Rating for SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of SM Energy to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $51.40.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $45.55 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $34.13 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 10.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 929.6% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,159,488 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $50,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,872 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in SM Energy by 848.7% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 877,739 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,986,000 after acquiring an additional 785,222 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in SM Energy by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,341,875 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $274,161,000 after acquiring an additional 384,675 shares during the period. SIR Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in SM Energy by 144.7% during the 2nd quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. now owns 457,854 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $19,793,000 after acquiring an additional 270,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,552,004 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $77,367,000 after acquiring an additional 258,733 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is 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.