SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Raised to $39.00 at KeyCorp

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price boosted by KeyCorp from $29.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SM. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.62.

SM Energy Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE:SM opened at $30.64 on Thursday. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $17.45 and a 12 month high of $33.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $24.35 and its 200 day moving average is $21.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.78.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $704.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 20.55%.SM Energy’s revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 15.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 205.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $53,028,000 after buying an additional 1,906,255 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in SM Energy by 268.3% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,271,757 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $42,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654,891 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in SM Energy by 198.9% during the third 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. Sagefield Capital LP bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,275,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,179,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting SM Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc raised its price target to $39 (from $29) and kept an Overweight rating, saying it is resetting its oil price deck after Q1 and views the recent crude/equity selloff as a buying opportunity — a bullish analyst endorsement that supports further upside in SM. Wall Street Upgrades SM Energy
• Positive Sentiment: SM completed its cash tender offer to repurchase up to $1.0B of 8.375% senior notes (assumed in the Civitas merger), retiring high‑coupon paper — this reduces interest expense and refinancing risk, improving near‑term cash flow and credit profile. Tender Offer Final Results
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $33 from $26 but maintained a Market Perform rating — a higher target is supportive, though the neutral rating signals limited conviction compared with KeyBanc’s Overweight stance. BMO Price Target Raise

SM Energy Company Profile

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.