SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $32.00 price target on shares of SM Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the transaction, the director owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,456.72. The trade was a 27.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $124,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $2,633,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in SM Energy by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 597,420 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $18,628,000 after purchasing an additional 147,569 shares in the last quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC bought a new position in SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 223,193 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,959,000 after purchasing an additional 81,754 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $27.12 on Monday. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $17.45 and a 12 month high of $35.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.22.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

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.