SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp increased their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $52.57.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $50.01 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $25.03 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 10.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,075,000. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,492,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 72.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,054,503 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $81,461,000 after purchasing an additional 865,480 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 848.7% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 877,739 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,986,000 after purchasing an additional 785,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,509,379 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $213,326,000 after purchasing an additional 493,427 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.