Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the energy company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.97% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SM. Susquehanna lowered their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

SM stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $44.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 155,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,383. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 4.14. SM Energy has a 12 month low of $34.76 and a 12 month high of $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.65 and its 200-day moving average is $42.75.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 33.89%. The company’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in SM Energy by 461.9% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter worth $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 3,434.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in SM Energy by 3,897.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during 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.