SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Siebert Williams Shank

Siebert Williams Shank downgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Mizuho set a $34.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research upgraded SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.20.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of SM stock opened at $23.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.99. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $37.11.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in SM Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,257,360 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $118,267,000 after purchasing an additional 107,295 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,921,769 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $147,876,000 after buying an additional 30,951 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,585,624 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $114,503,000 after buying an additional 375,754 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in SM Energy by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,731,350 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $92,202,000 after acquiring an additional 524,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 205.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $53,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.