SM Energy’s (SM) Neutral Rating Reiterated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $53.00 target price on the energy company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $51.00.

SM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 research report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

SM Energy Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of SM stock opened at $40.18 on Wednesday. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 4.14.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. Analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 11.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 16.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.