SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.0714.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SM shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 160.5% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $32.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.48 and a 200-day moving average of $24.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.73. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $17.45 and a 1-year high of $35.88.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

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.