SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Increased to $51.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $51.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on SM. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 8th. KeyCorp increased their price target on SM Energy from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $50.86.

SM Energy Trading Down 2.6 %

SM stock opened at $48.03 on Thursday. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $25.03 and a 1-year high of $53.26. 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 $45.98 and its 200-day moving average is $40.83. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 4.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. SM Energy’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in SM Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 8,361 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 7,630 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.