SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Raised to $33.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price objective raised by BMO Capital Markets from $26.00 to $33.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SM Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price target on SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.62.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SM Energy stock opened at $30.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $17.45 and a 1-year high of $33.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.78.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $704.92 million for 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,619,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,212,775 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,283,000 after buying an additional 201,704 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at about $1,190,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 135.2% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 254,766 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,362,000 after buying an additional 146,444 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 16.3% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,731,350 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $92,202,000 after buying an additional 524,105 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.