Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 10.35% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SM. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens boosted their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $34.00 price objective on SM Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.20.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.89. 596,593 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,939,453. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $17.45 and a fifty-two week high of $32.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $704.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The firm’s revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in SM Energy by 160.5% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in SM Energy by 10,461.5% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.