SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target Lowered to $24.00 at Susquehanna

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from $39.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the energy company's stock. Susquehanna's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.87% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.00.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $23.56. The stock had a trading volume of 210,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,788. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $28.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 3.75. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $19.67 and a 12 month high of $51.94. 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 posted 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 business had revenue of $852.22 million for 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, equities research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 22.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $103,998,000 after acquiring an additional 767,779 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $22,059,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 214.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 519,302 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $20,128,000 after purchasing an additional 354,297 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock worth $142,718,000 after purchasing an additional 296,601 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.