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

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.11.

A number of brokerages recently commented on SM. Stephens started coverage on SM Energy in a report on Friday, June 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on SM Energy in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $48.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 4.15. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $29.51 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 509.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 665.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 66.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.