SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Upgraded at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $34.00 target price on SM Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.67.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $31.52 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.75. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $17.45 and a 12 month high of $31.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The business had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $764.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in SM Energy by 160.5% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in SM Energy by 10,461.5% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 94.56% of the stock is 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.