SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.5333.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SM. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of SM stock opened at $33.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.21 and a 200 day moving average of $26.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.73. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $17.45 and a twelve month high of $35.88.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. SM Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 36.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 3.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,108 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 13,777 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,417 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,748 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.