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

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Susquehanna from $32.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the energy company’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price points to a potential upside of 13.24% from the company’s current price.

SM has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Stephens decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho set a $39.00 price target on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on SM Energy from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.47.

SM Energy Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE SM opened at $38.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $41.56.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $378,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in 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 valued at $311,678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,751 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the second quarter worth $199,602,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,257,807. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include acquiring prospective acreage, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing properties in U.S. onshore oil and gas basins.

The company’s operations are primarily concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford shale region in South Texas. SM Energy focuses on development of unconventional resources and uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to produce hydrocarbons from shale and other tight-rock formations.

Founded in 1908 as St.