SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SM. Mizuho boosted their price target on SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on SM Energy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $54.44.

SM Energy Trading Down 7.3 %

SM opened at $40.90 on Thursday. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 4.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.60.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. The business had revenue of $559.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.21 million. Sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $804,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SM. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $544,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 3,772.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 62,164 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 9,285 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 751,453 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,096,000 after buying an additional 213,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,373,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.