SM Energy Company (SM) – What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.59.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised SM Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Torren Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% in the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in SM Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 211.2% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $39.52 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 0.95. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $41.56.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include acquiring prospective acreage, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing properties in U.S. onshore oil and gas basins.

The company’s operations are primarily concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford shale region in South Texas. SM Energy focuses on development of unconventional resources and uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to produce hydrocarbons from shale and other tight-rock formations.

Founded in 1908 as St.