SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Raised to $48.00 at UBS Group

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target boosted by research analysts at UBS Group from $36.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the energy company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.52% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on SM. Zacks Research cut SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, Roth Capital raised SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.94.

SM Energy Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:SM traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.86. 2,581,045 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,101,148. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.23 and a 200 day moving average of $30.52. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $17.45 and a 12 month high of $39.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.75.

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. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company’s revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,457. This trade represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Torren Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% in the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy in the first quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on acquiring and developing oil and gas properties and producing hydrocarbons from onshore assets in the United States.

The company’s principal operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and the South Texas region. SM Energy has also expanded its U.S. operating portfolio through acquisitions, including assets in Utah’s Uinta Basin.