Stephens Initiates Coverage on SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Research analysts at Stephens assumed coverage on shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in a research report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price target on the energy company’s stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 30.57% from the company’s previous close.

SM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.63.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SM stock opened at $48.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $27.98 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 4.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.81 and its 200 day moving average is $43.85.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. The firm had revenue of $559.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.21 million. Research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $804,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 54.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 66.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.