SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Susquehanna cut their target price on SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $28.00 price target on SM Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd.

SM Energy Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $21.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $17.45 and a 12-month high of $39.99.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 91,916 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,753,000 after purchasing an additional 19,965 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 43.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 145,922 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,370,000 after buying an additional 44,542 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in SM Energy by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,111 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $222,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.