JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Target Price to $50.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $50.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the energy company’s stock.

SM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded SM Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded SM Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $53.78.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

SM opened at $39.16 on Thursday. SM Energy has a one year low of $34.13 and a one year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.95 and its 200-day moving average is $46.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 99,334 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 15,691 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 4.2% during the 4th 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 period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,907 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,931 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 97,003 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 5,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.