SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.86.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 11th.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $48.70 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $24.66 and a 1 year high of $49.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.41. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 4.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 19th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 10.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 8,361 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 7,630 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.26% 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.