SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, August 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho upgraded SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.93.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $36.59 on Friday. SM Energy has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $38.25. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $31.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.43.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.