SM Energy (SM) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 18th

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 26th, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share by the energy company on Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th.

SM Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 210.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. SM Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 5.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect SM Energy to earn $6.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.9%.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $49.02 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $25.03 and a 1-year high of $49.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The company had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SM. KeyCorp lowered their price target on SM Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Susquehanna upped their target price on SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho upped their target price on SM Energy from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Raymond James lowered their target price on SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 561.7% in 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 last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. West Tower Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 385.7% during the 4th quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3,772.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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