SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Given New $51.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $51.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.06% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on SM. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.86.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $48.09 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 4.20. SM Energy has a one year low of $25.03 and a one year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $608.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. CWM LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 8,361 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its stake in SM Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 7,630 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SM Energy

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.