SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.08.

Several brokerages have commented on SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $27.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.77. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $19.67 and a 52-week high of $50.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 2.19.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,017 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 200.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in SM Energy by 1,097.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,138 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 172.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth $45,000. 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.