SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Stock Has Average Price Target of $39.38

Key Points

• Analysts rate SM Energy a “Moderate Buy”, with 10 buy ratings, 6 holds and 1 strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $39.38, above the reported opening price of $33.12.
• SM Energy exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.19 in EPS versus a $1.96 consensus estimate and $2.50 billion in revenue, up 215.3% year over year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, or $0.88 annually, representing a 2.7% yield. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the stock, while recent insider transactions were sales.

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.38.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SM. Stephens lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM opened at $33.12 on Wednesday. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $41.56. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.51. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.75. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. SM Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was 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 directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. This represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at $479,457. This trade represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $378,288,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $199,602,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in SM Energy by 79.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company's stock worth $311,678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP purchased a new position in SM Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,257,807. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on onshore properties in the United States, with activities concentrated in major producing regions such as the Permian Basin in West Texas and the South Texas Eagle Ford.

The company's products include crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, which it sells to energy marketers, midstream companies, and other purchasers.

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