SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives $41.10 Consensus PT from Analysts

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.10.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SM. TheStreet upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on SM Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 16th.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $42.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.42. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 4.36. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $24.66 and a fifty-two week high of $48.55.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The energy company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $550.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.46 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 41.36% and a return on equity of 22.48%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 5.66 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 21st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a yield of 1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 20th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 6.80%.

Insider Activity

In other SM Energy news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 15,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.14, for a total transaction of $644,663.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 73,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,031,400.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 15,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.14, for a total value of $644,663.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 73,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,031,400.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rose M. Robeson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $1,189,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 39,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,567,404.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,164 shares of company stock worth $2,083,923 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 154.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 840 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 561.7% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 880 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in SM Energy by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,018 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 327.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.26% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

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 also has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.