SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $63.00 price objective on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on SM. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised SM Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They set a hold rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $55.11.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM stock opened at $43.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 4.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $29.51 and a 52-week high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $568.21 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. As a group, equities analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 66.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is 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.