SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $29.00. The stock had previously closed at $28.26, but opened at $27.56. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. SM Energy shares last traded at $27.09, with a volume of 225,467 shares traded.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stephens decreased their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,017 shares of the energy company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 200.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 1,097.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,138 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 172.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.8%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $23.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.20%.

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.