SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.6154.

SM has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens upped their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price target on SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SM Energy from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in SM Energy by 27.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 91,916 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,753,000 after buying an additional 19,965 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position 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. increased its position in SM Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,111 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after buying an additional 2,969 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 44.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the first quarter worth $222,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about SM Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp materially raised earnings estimates across 2026–2027 (multiple quarters and full-year), kept an “Overweight” rating and a $39 price target — a catalyst for buy-side demand given the large upward revisions to EPS and multi-quarter visibility. KeyCorp Estimates & Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights SM’s strong earnings‑surprise history and argues the company has the setup to beat estimates again — supporting bullish sentiment ahead of the next report. Will SM Energy (SM) Beat Estimates Again?
• Positive Sentiment: Federal legislation (H.R.8034) proposed to relax depletion rules for small oil & gas producers could boost after‑tax cash flow for companies like SM if enacted — a potential longer‑term tailwind, though passage and final text remain uncertain. H.R.8034 Bill Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: SM scheduled its Q1 2026 results release for after the close on May 6 and a conference call for May 7 — a near-term catalyst that could prompt volatility depending on production, guidance and commodity exposure. Q1 2026 Conference Call Notice
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple Zacks pieces flag SM as a trending/momentum stock and reported the intraday outperformance vs. the broader market — increased coverage can amplify flows but doesn’t change fundamentals on its own. SM Outpaces Stock Market Gains

SM Energy Stock Performance

SM Energy stock opened at $31.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.78. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.06 and a 200-day moving average of $22.00. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $17.45 and a 52 week high of $33.25.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $704.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 20.55%.The business’s revenue was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.