SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.42.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stephens lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,269,443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $457,320,000 after buying an additional 69,933 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 6.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,909,004 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $117,075,000 after acquiring an additional 226,911 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 51.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,088,948 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $103,998,000 after purchasing an additional 767,779 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $26.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.34 and a 200 day moving average of $32.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 2.19. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $19.67 and a 52-week high of $50.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) 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 analysts’ expectations of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.20%.

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.