SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.64.

SM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $509,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 1.0% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 57,900 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 569,348 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $24,613,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in SM Energy by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,335,624 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $57,739,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $37.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.46 and a 200-day moving average of $43.61. SM Energy has a one year low of $34.76 and a one year high of $53.26. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 4.15.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.89% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.17%.

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.