Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $33.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $30.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 4.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.60. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $26.66 and a 1 year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. On average, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in SM Energy by 22.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 767,779 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,059,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 214.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 519,302 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $20,128,000 after purchasing an additional 354,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $142,718,000 after buying an additional 296,601 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is 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.