BMO Capital Markets Trims SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Target Price to $48.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price objective decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SM. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded SM Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded SM Energy to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $51.40.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM opened at $45.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 4.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.27. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $34.13 and a 1-year high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 113.9% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 116.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 71,800 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after buying an additional 38,700 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,077,231 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,710,000 after buying an additional 198,473 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth $50,075,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth $852,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.