SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price Up 4.7% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• SM Energy's stock price gained 4.7%, closing at $28.86 after trading as high as $28.98, despite a 74% decline in average daily volume.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on SM Energy, with target prices ranging from $29.00 to $55.00, and the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• SM Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.79% with an 11.20% payout ratio.

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.98 and last traded at $28.86. Approximately 598,462 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 2,286,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SM. Stephens dropped their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial downgraded SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Cowen raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.33.

SM Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.78 and a 200 day moving average of $29.06.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 27.61%. The firm's revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. SM Energy's payout ratio is presently 11.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 663.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,884,536 shares of the energy company's stock worth $56,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,779 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth about $44,005,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 169.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,873,860 shares of the energy company's stock worth $56,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,397 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in SM Energy by 51.4% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,207,245 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $96,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,363,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

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.

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