SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives $49.29 Average Target Price from Brokerages

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.86.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $48.09 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.90. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.03 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 10.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,373,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 574,120 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $22,230,000 after purchasing an additional 123,126 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 169,483 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,720,000 after purchasing an additional 80,653 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at $46,492,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at about $270,000. 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.