SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate SM Energy a “Moderate Buy.” Among 18 analysts, 11 recommend buying, two strongly recommend buying, and five advise holding; the average 12-month price target is $40.59.
• SM Energy reported quarterly EPS of $2.19, exceeding the $1.96 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.50 billion—up 215.3% year over year and above expectations.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22, equivalent to an annualized $0.88 dividend and a 2.2% yield. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the stock, while two company insiders recently sold shares.

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.59.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SM. Weiss Ratings raised SM Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Mizuho set a $39.00 target price on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Susquehanna raised their target price on SM Energy from $32.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM opened at $40.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.95. SM Energy has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $41.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company's fifty day moving average price is $36.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.47.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Torren Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in SM Energy by 211.2% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the energy company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. 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 crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include acquiring prospective acreage, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing properties in U.S. onshore oil and gas basins.

The company's operations are primarily concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford shale region in South Texas. SM Energy focuses on development of unconventional resources and uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to produce hydrocarbons from shale and other tight-rock formations.

Founded in 1908 as St.

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