SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Cut to $55.00 by Analysts at Stephens

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Stephens from $62.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the energy company's stock. Stephens' price objective indicates a potential upside of 139.77% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SM. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.83.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM Energy stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.94. 2,060,791 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,870,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 3.75. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $19.67 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.47.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. Sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,206 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in SM Energy by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,970 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in SM Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,800 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,791,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,718 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,975 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.