SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Cut to $52.00 by Analysts at Stephens

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price cut by research analysts at Stephens from $61.00 to $52.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Stephens’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 97.27% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of SM Energy from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $26.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.75. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $35.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.73.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The business’s revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 65,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 160.5% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC raised its position in SM Energy by 4,561.1% in the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.