SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Raised to $47.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens increased their price objective on SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.09.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $46.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 4.18. SM Energy has a one year low of $34.13 and a one year high of $53.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52.

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

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 41,507 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after buying an additional 7,220 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in SM Energy by 33.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 25,528 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 6,327 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the first quarter worth about $228,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 101,455 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 3,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 19.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 764,118 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,093,000 after purchasing an additional 124,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.