SM Energy price target lowered to $34 from $38 at RBC Capital

RBC Capital lowered the firm’s price target on SM Energy (SM) to $34 from $38 and keeps a Sector Perform rating on the shares. The company continues to drive efficiency gains in the Uinta Basin through on-site sand mining and batch drilling and completion while actively refining development plan as delineation efforts progress, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The key investor debates on the stock are around performance of “extensional” Permian acreage, depth/quality of inventory, timing for stock buybacks, and activity shifts given recent commodity price fluctuations, the firm added.