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

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.29.

SM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth $3,373,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 574,120 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $22,230,000 after buying an additional 123,126 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 169,483 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,720,000 after buying an additional 80,653 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $46,492,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $270,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of SM opened at $49.29 on Friday. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $25.03 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 10.48%.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.