KeyCorp Increases SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target to $65.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at KeyCorp from $62.00 to $65.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target points to a potential upside of 30.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on SM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.57.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SM opened at $49.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 4.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.67 and its 200 day moving average is $41.13. SM Energy has a 52 week low of $25.03 and a 52 week high of $53.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $50,075,000. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,492,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 72.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,054,503 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $81,461,000 after purchasing an additional 865,480 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 848.7% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 877,739 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,986,000 after purchasing an additional 785,222 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,509,379 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $213,326,000 after purchasing an additional 493,427 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is 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.