SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Tudor Pickering raised SM Energy to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised SM Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Five 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $53.78.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

SM opened at $39.16 on Friday. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $34.13 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in SM Energy by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in SM Energy by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,403 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently 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.