StockNews.com Begins Coverage on SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the energy company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 27th. Cowen downgraded shares of SM Energy from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Roth Capital reissued a buy rating on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $37.00 in a report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.18.

SM Energy Stock Down 5.8 %

SM stock opened at $25.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $24.86 and a 1-year high of $54.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 4.42.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The energy company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.08. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.11% and a return on equity of 34.40%. The company had revenue of $671.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 20th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 19th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 3.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, CEO Herbert S. Vogel purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.48 per share, with a total value of $29,480.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 404,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,911,777.24. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $86,460. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 677.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 583 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 99.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 867 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 173.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 893 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.45% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

SM Energy Co is an independent energy company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.