SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Raised to $65.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price raised by KeyCorp from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on SM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James cut their target price on SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $52.57.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM opened at $50.01 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.19. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $25.03 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,315 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.