Stephens Reiterates Overweight Rating for SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

SM Energy (NYSE:SM)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by research analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $57.00 price target on the energy company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 40.46% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.64.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM opened at $40.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.04. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $34.76 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 4.15.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The company had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 54,712 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 9,650.0% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,950 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,403 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 25.8% in the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 128,674 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,563,000 after acquiring an additional 26,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $826,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% 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.