SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Increased to $54.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the energy company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.39% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.71.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $51.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,817,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,597,478. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 4.20. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $44.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.31. SM Energy has a one year low of $25.03 and a one year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. SM Energy's quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 561.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 880 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 59.7% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.