SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on SM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn raised SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.57.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE SM opened at $50.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $25.03 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 4.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.62.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,509,379 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $213,326,000 after purchasing an additional 493,427 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in SM Energy by 72.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,054,503 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $81,461,000 after acquiring an additional 865,480 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $61,685,000 after acquiring an additional 64,781 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,547,315 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $61,351,000 after acquiring an additional 83,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $50,075,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.