SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.20.

SM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in SM Energy by 7.0% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 461.9% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,062 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

SM stock opened at $43.42 on Monday. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $34.76 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 4.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.17%.

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.