Wells Fargo & Company Cuts SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target to $23.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has reduced its price target for SM Energy from $30.00 to $23.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, Wells Fargo's new target price indicates a potential upside of 5.75% from the stock's current price of $21.75.
• SM Energy's stock ratings vary, with one strong buy, three buy, six hold, and two sell ratings, reflecting diverse analyst opinions on the company's performance.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $30.00 to $23.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the energy company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.75% from the stock's current price.

SM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on SM Energy from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Zacks Research lowered SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $38.00 target price on SM Energy in a report on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.50.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE SM opened at $21.75 on Friday. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $46.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.27. SM Energy had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 25.94%.The firm had revenue of $792.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,723 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 9,751 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 2.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,258 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,704 shares of the energy company's stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 6,928 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 162,849 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,877,000 after buying an additional 39,165 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in SM Energy by 11.9% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 46,039 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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