SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on SM Energy from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of SM Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $52.57.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $50.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.61. The company has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 4.21. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.03 and a fifty-two week high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. SM Energy’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SM. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 509.7% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 54.9% in 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. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 665.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.