JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Price Target to $50.00

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target decreased by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $50.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 27.52% from the stock’s previous close.

SM has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.78.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.21. 518,457 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,719,614. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $34.13 and a 52-week high of $53.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $616.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 99,334 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 15,691 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,103 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $61,685,000 after buying an additional 64,781 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,907 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,931 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 2,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 97,003 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after buying an additional 5,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.