SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Up 5.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) shot up 5.9% during trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $40.00 price target on the stock. SM Energy traded as high as $29.43 and last traded at $29.3970. 2,252,133 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 6,954,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.75.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SM. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on SM Energy from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Stephens raised their target price on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.09.

SM Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Global oil-risk rally lifts upstream names — renewed Middle East conflict fears and targeted strikes on gas infrastructure have driven WTI and Brent sharply higher this month, boosting expectations for higher cash flow at U.S. E&P companies like SM. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Company deleveraging and shareholder-return steps are supporting the rally — SM agreed to sell South Texas assets for ~$950M, has an upsized $1.0B senior note sale to fund a tender offer for 2028 notes, and raised its base dividend by 10%. Management says proceeds will prioritize debt reduction, improving financial flexibility and payout credibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgrade — the firm moved SM from Neutral to Overweight with a $40 price target, providing a notable buy-side analyst catalyst and signaling confidence in the company’s outlook and capital-plan execution. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst activity — Wells Fargo raised its target to $25 (Equal Weight) while TD Cowen set a $30 target; Street sentiment remains varied (consensus = Hold), so analyst noise could keep intraday swings elevated. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary and valuation narratives — recent pieces (e.g., Seeking Alpha) argue SM remains a value/bargain play versus peers, which can attract longer-term buyers but may have limited near-term impact vs. macro-driven moves. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Large institutional rebalancing — Q4 2025 filings show several big managers materially reduced positions, even as some funds added shares; concentrated selling by a few large holders could add volatility if continued. Article Title

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SM. State Street Corp increased its stake in SM Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,257,360 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $118,267,000 after buying an additional 107,295 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in SM Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,921,769 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $147,876,000 after buying an additional 30,951 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 8.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,585,624 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $114,503,000 after acquiring an additional 375,754 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 16.3% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,731,350 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $92,202,000 after acquiring an additional 524,105 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 205.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $53,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.06 and a 200-day moving average of $21.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 20.55%.SM Energy’s revenue was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 15.58%.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.