Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $46.00 price target on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on SM. TheStreet raised SM Energy from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, July 10th. Raymond James raised their price target on SM Energy from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on SM Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.30.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on SM

SM Energy Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SM traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.88. 125,771 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,763,594. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.95. SM Energy has a fifty-two week low of $24.66 and a fifty-two week high of $48.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 4.32.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The energy company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $550.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.46 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 41.36% and a return on equity of 22.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 23rd. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 15,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.14, for a total value of $644,663.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 73,685 shares in the company, valued at $3,031,400.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Patrick A. Lytle sold 6,494 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.46, for a total transaction of $249,759.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,098 shares in the company, valued at $388,369.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 15,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.14, for a total transaction of $644,663.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 73,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,031,400.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,164 shares of company stock valued at $2,083,923. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in SM Energy by 154.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 840 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 561.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 880 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in SM Energy by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,018 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 327.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. 91.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SM Energy

(Get Free Report)

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 also has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.

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