Wells Fargo & Company Trims SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Target Price to $43.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.42% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.78.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $40.79. 802,523 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,759,578. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.41. The company has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 66.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 63.9% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position 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 valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 509.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. 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.