Stephens Reaffirms “Overweight” Rating for SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $63.00 target price on the energy company’s stock.

SM has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. 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 research report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna raised their target price on SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial began coverage on SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a hold rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on SM Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $55.11.

SM Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SM opened at $43.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 4.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.52 and a 200-day moving average of $44.45. SM Energy has a 1-year low of $29.51 and a 1-year high of $53.26.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $559.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.21 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 31.80%. On average, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors 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 yield of 1.67%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction on 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 owns 114,495 shares in the company, valued at $5,756,808.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 509.7% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 581 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 665.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.