SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Lowered to $48.00 at BMO Capital Markets

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price dropped by BMO Capital Markets from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the energy company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 6.71% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Tudor Pickering raised SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on SM Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.40.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SM traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.98. 1,099,173 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,759,090. 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 has a twelve month low of $34.13 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 4.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.33.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in SM Energy by 461.9% in the second 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 last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 509.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in SM Energy by 63.9% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in SM Energy by 66.8% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

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.