Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price lifted by Stephens from $56.00 to $57.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Stephens’ target price suggests a potential upside of 41.51% from the company’s current price.

SM has been the subject of several other reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.18.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock traded down $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,378,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,737,284. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $53.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.40.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter worth about $200,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,792,573 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $71,649,000 after buying an additional 12,669 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 9.6% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,746 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 144.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,357 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 13,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.