SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded SM Energy from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $37.93.
• SM Energy reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.19 versus estimates of $1.96 and revenue of $2.50 billion, up 215.3% year over year.
• Shares opened at $36.59, near their 52-week high of $38.25; an executive also sold 17,500 shares worth approximately $647,850, while institutional investors own 94.56% of the company.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised SM Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stephens decreased their price target on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.93.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $36.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.37. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $17.45 and a fifty-two week high of $38.25. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 0.73.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

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.

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