SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives $48.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

SM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho dropped their price target on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

SM Energy Stock Down 12.1 %

SM opened at $22.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $21.13 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 3.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.00.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. Sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,223,038 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $48,885,000 after purchasing an additional 22,152 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 48,119 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after buying an additional 4,471 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 165,005 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,595,000 after buying an additional 24,660 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 339,791 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $13,581,000 after buying an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at $1,015,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.