Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price hoisted by Stephens from $56.00 to $57.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SM. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. KeyCorp cut their target price on SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.18.

SM Energy Stock Down 4.0 %

SM traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,384,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,741,451. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.43 and its 200-day moving average is $45.30. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.05 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $477,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in SM Energy by 6.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 65,932 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,434 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $428,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth $51,000. 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.