Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the energy company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.97% from the company’s previous close.

SM has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE SM traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $44.13. 155,230 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,271,383. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.75. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.76 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 4.14.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The business had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 461.9% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3,434.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3,897.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.