SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.9333.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Roth Capital raised shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho upgraded SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,025,229,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 79.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $311,678,000 after buying an additional 4,426,751 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,257,360 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $118,267,000 after buying an additional 107,295 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 205.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $53,028,000 after buying an additional 1,906,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,721,147 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $50,897,000 after acquiring an additional 56,187 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Up 9.8%

SM stock opened at $31.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.87. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $35.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

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.