Zacks Research Downgrades SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to Hold

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SM has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of SM Energy from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $30.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.79.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM opened at $31.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $35.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.66. The company has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This 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 can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Global Investments raised its holdings in SM Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,417 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $868,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in SM Energy by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,748 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 62.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in SM Energy by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,860 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,211 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.