SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price Up 5.1% After Analyst Upgrade

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) shares shot up 5.1% on Tuesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $39.00 to $46.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. SM Energy traded as high as $40.87 and last traded at $41.0370. 1,295,349 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 5,089,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.03.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Roth Capital upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 12,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $479,457. This trade represents a 22.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This represents a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Torren Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.63. The company has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 0.75.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

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.