SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from $32.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the energy company’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.24% from the company’s current price.

SM has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho set a $39.00 target price on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Truist Financial upped their target price on SM Energy from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.47.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM stock opened at $38.85 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $17.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.56.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $139,722.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. The trade was a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 112.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,115 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 49,740 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in SM Energy during the second quarter valued at about $2,243,000. Readystate Asset Management LP raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 293.3% in the 2nd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 222,880 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 166,208 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter worth $2,965,000. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA acquired a new position in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth $13,299,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include acquiring prospective acreage, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing properties in U.S. onshore oil and gas basins.

The company’s operations are primarily concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford shale region in South Texas. SM Energy focuses on development of unconventional resources and uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to produce hydrocarbons from shale and other tight-rock formations.

Founded in 1908 as St.