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

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) was upgraded by 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 analysts have also recently commented on SM. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho lifted their target price on SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.44.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,979,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,766,214. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.77. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,341,875 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $274,161,000 after acquiring an additional 384,675 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 1.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,361,149 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $102,072,000 after purchasing an additional 28,005 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 64,781 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 20.0% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,552,004 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $77,367,000 after purchasing an additional 258,733 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,335,624 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $57,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,611 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.