SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.90.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SM. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $37.21 on Friday. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $36.11 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 4.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.24.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $22,059,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 33,392 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,413 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,512,000 after purchasing an additional 14,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,841 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $48,676,000 after purchasing an additional 32,803 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.