SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.6364.

SM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $28.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on SM Energy from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Mizuho set a $38.00 price target on SM Energy in a report on Friday, October 10th. Zacks Research raised SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on SM Energy to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,613 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,746,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.0% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 82,063 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after buying an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in SM Energy by 4.2% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 582,652 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $14,607,000 after buying an additional 23,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in SM Energy by 2.5% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 448,436 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,197,000 after buying an additional 10,902 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $18.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 2.29. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $17.58 and a 12-month high of $46.42.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The energy company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.08. SM Energy had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The firm had revenue of $811.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.62%.

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.