SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

SM has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

SM Energy Stock Down 2.8 %

SM Energy stock opened at $29.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 4.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.40. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $26.66 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. On average, equities research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth about $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,470 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About SM Energy

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.