SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.20.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 160.5% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $21.46 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $17.45 and a 12 month high of $39.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.03.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.62%.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.