SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Raised to $39.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target boosted by KeyCorp from $29.00 to $39.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Stephens upped their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.62.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SM stock opened at $30.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.78. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $33.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.97.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 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 analysts’ expectations of $764.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 160.5% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.