SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give SM Energy a consensus "Hold" rating from 12 analysts (2 sell, 5 hold, 4 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $30.
• On Feb. 25 SM reported EPS $0.83, beating estimates of $0.73, but revenue of $704.9M missed the $764.4M estimate and was down 17.3% year‑over‑year.
• SM raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 (annualized $0.88, 3.3% yield); shares trade around $26.79 with a P/E of 4.74 and market cap of $3.07B (1‑year range $17.45–$32.26).

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

SM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SM Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. KeyCorp cut their price target on SM Energy from $36.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered SM Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $26.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $17.45 and a 1-year high of $32.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.76.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.58%.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in SM Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,417 shares of the energy company's stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,748 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,010 shares of the energy company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 12,604 shares of the energy company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Company Profile

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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