SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives $51.20 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.90.

Several research firms have commented on SM. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

SM Energy Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:SM opened at $43.24 on Monday. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $34.90 and a 12 month high of $53.26. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.79 and its 200 day moving average is $42.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 4.14.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.17%.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 2,515.6% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $178,404,000 after buying an additional 4,292,793 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 2,217.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 818,032 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $32,697,000 after acquiring an additional 782,728 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,341,875 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $274,161,000 after acquiring an additional 384,675 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 267.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 391,107 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $15,633,000 after acquiring an additional 284,665 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in SM Energy by 136.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 484,119 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $19,350,000 after acquiring an additional 279,417 shares during the last quarter. 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.