SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Raised to $54.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the energy company's stock.

SM has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of SM Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised SM Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $53.86.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM traded down $1.76 on Friday, reaching $49.17. 1,164,459 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,578,482. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 4.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.45. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $25.20 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $48.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.85.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. SM Energy's quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in SM Energy by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 24,127 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 2,777 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,370,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,089,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.