SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives $48.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SM shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James cut their target price on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE SM opened at $29.94 on Friday. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $26.66 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 4.14.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 47.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,218 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $10,002,000 after acquiring an additional 80,343 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $259,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $3,048,000. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth $833,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in SM Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,287,815 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $251,324,000 after purchasing an additional 114,664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.