SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• SM Energy has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 16 analysts, with 10 buy ratings, five holds, and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $37.93, compared with the stock’s $36.51 opening price.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.19 EPS versus the $1.96 estimate and $2.50 billion in revenue, up 215.3% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $7.48.
• SM Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annualized payout of $0.88 and a 2.4% yield. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company, while an executive recently sold 17,500 shares.

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.9333.

Several research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on SM Energy in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "sell" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the second quarter worth $378,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 79.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company's stock worth $311,678,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,751 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter worth $199,602,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2,798.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,257,236 shares of the energy company's stock worth $189,414,000 after acquiring an additional 7,006,855 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 2.9%

SM Energy stock opened at $36.51 on Friday. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $17.45 and a fifty-two week high of $38.94. The stock has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $32.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

SM Energy Company Profile

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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