SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Up to $43.35

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $43.35, but opened at $44.50. SM Energy shares last traded at $44.06, with a volume of 190,935 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.11.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 4.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.13. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $559.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.21 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $804,480.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 54.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,125 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in SM Energy by 66.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.