SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• SM Energy has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 15 brokerages, with eight buy ratings and seven hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $37.07.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.55 versus expectations of $1.13 and revenue of $1.48 billion, both ahead of estimates. Revenue jumped 75% year over year.
• SM Energy also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.9%. Meanwhile, an insider sale by Director Ramiro G. Peru trimmed his holdings, even as institutional ownership remains high at 94.56%.

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.0714.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho lifted their price target on SM Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on SM Energy from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $30.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.73. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $17.45 and a 52 week high of $35.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm's 50 day moving average is $30.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.75.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm's revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. SM Energy's payout ratio is 36.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SM Energy news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the transaction, the director owned 65,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,241,456.72. The trade was a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in SM Energy by 27.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 91,916 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,753,000 after buying an additional 19,965 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 43.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 145,922 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,370,000 after purchasing an additional 44,542 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,111 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 44.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

About SM Energy

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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