Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $33.00 to $29.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.16% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.08.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $27.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 741,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,006,748. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.89. 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 has a 12-month low of $19.67 and a 12-month high of $50.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 2.19.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The company had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 663.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,884,536 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $56,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,779 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,005,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 169.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,873,860 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $56,122,000 after buying an additional 1,178,397 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,207,245 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $96,057,000 after buying an additional 1,088,948 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth $25,363,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.