SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Upgraded by Seaport Research Partners to “Strong Sell” Rating

Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) from an underperform rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on SM. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, August 17th. Mizuho upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.93.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM opened at $37.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.89. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $38.94.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,108 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 13,777 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,417 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in SM Energy by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,748 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.