SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Upgraded by Truist Financial to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Truist Financial upgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Stephens boosted their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.67.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $30.41 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 1.03. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $17.45 and a 1-year high of $32.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in SM Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,257,360 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $118,267,000 after buying an additional 107,295 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,921,769 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $147,876,000 after acquiring an additional 30,951 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 8.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,585,624 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $114,503,000 after acquiring an additional 375,754 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 16.3% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,731,350 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $92,202,000 after acquiring an additional 524,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 205.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $53,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906,255 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.