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

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on SM. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM opened at $32.74 on Friday. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $31.80 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 4.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.47.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 3,434.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in SM Energy by 3,897.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. 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.