Wall Street Zen Upgrades SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to Strong-Buy

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.38.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $37.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 0.75. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $17.45 and a 1-year high of $41.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

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

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $479,457. This trade represents a 22.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,379.10. This represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About SM Energy

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.