SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho upped their price target on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James lowered their price target on SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $52.57.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $50.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.26. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $25.03 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The company had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 665.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 163,582 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth $477,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 13,351 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

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.