SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Cut to Buy at 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 report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on SM. Scotiabank initiated coverage on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised SM Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.82.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM opened at $29.08 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.66 and its 200-day moving average is $30.63. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $17.45 and a 12 month high of $41.56. The firm has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 13.69% and a return on equity of 20.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 167.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were 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 directly owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% in the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 211.2% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company is an independent oil and gas company focused on acquiring, exploring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations are concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in the Permian Basin and the South Texas region.

The company’s business includes developing oil and gas properties and managing the infrastructure and operations needed to bring production to market. Its portfolio has evolved over time as SM Energy has made acquisitions and divested assets to focus on its core areas.

Founded in 1908 as St.