Brokerages Set SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target at $42.92

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.92.

SM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their price target on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

SM Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of SM traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.14. 1,602,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,968,964. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.07. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 2.17. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $19.67 and a 1-year high of $50.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The company had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.20%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,269,443 shares of the energy company's stock worth $457,320,000 after acquiring an additional 69,933 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock worth $179,546,000 after acquiring an additional 835,929 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,909,004 shares of the energy company's stock worth $117,075,000 after acquiring an additional 226,911 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 51.4% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,207,245 shares of the energy company's stock worth $96,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock worth $103,998,000 after acquiring an additional 767,779 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.