Wells Fargo & Company Trims SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Target Price to $43.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.42% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SM. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued 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 $51.78.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM stock traded up $0.82 on Tuesday, reaching $40.79. 802,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,759,578. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $616.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 509.7% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in SM Energy by 461.9% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 485 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 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.