StockNews.com Lowers SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SM. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $54.89.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM stock opened at $44.93 on Tuesday. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $32.21 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 4.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.52 and a 200 day moving average of $44.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $559.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.21 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $804,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,992,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,373,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 574,120 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $22,230,000 after acquiring an additional 123,126 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,103 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $61,685,000 after acquiring an additional 64,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 198,380 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,681,000 after acquiring an additional 21,102 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.