Brokerages Set SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Target Price at $33.62

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.6154.

SM has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE SM opened at $29.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.56. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $33.25. The stock has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.73.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in SM Energy by 79.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $311,678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,751 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 205.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $53,028,000 after buying an additional 1,906,255 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 268.3% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,271,757 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $42,482,000 after buying an additional 1,654,891 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 198.9% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,429,518 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $60,665,000 after buying an additional 1,616,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,275,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.