SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.6364.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on SM Energy to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital set a $28.00 target price on SM Energy in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $30.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 101,932 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,637,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 198.9% during the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,429,518 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $60,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its stake in SM Energy by 108.0% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 123,388 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,081,000 after purchasing an additional 64,068 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Trading Up 3.3%

SM opened at $20.17 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.11 and its 200-day moving average is $24.55. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $17.58 and a 52-week high of $44.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.16.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.08. SM Energy had a net margin of 22.03% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $811.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.24 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

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.