SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp dropped their price target on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in SM Energy by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock worth $179,546,000 after buying an additional 835,929 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock worth $142,718,000 after acquiring an additional 296,601 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock worth $103,998,000 after acquiring an additional 767,779 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,118,297 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $82,105,000 after acquiring an additional 42,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in SM Energy by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,449,483 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $56,182,000 after purchasing an additional 140,228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SM opened at $22.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 3.75. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $19.67 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

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.

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