SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on SM Energy from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.82.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $29.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.58. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $41.56.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 13.69%. SM Energy’s revenue was up 167.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,457. This represents a 22.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $378,288,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $199,602,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 79.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $311,678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,257,807. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company is an independent oil and gas company focused on acquiring, exploring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations are concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in the Permian Basin and the South Texas region.

The company’s business includes developing oil and gas properties and managing the infrastructure and operations needed to bring production to market. Its portfolio has evolved over time as SM Energy has made acquisitions and divested assets to focus on its core areas.

Founded in 1908 as St.