SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $35.25, but opened at $36.64. SM Energy shares last traded at $36.7650, with a volume of 265,165 shares.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised SM Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.81.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,379.10. The trade was a 54.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More SM Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgrades SM Energy to Strong Buy: The upgrade reinforces the company’s improving earnings-estimate and valuation outlook, potentially encouraging additional buying from momentum- and quantitative-focused investors. Should Value Investors Buy SM Energy Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Added to multiple Zacks Strong Buy lists: SM Energy was included in Zacks’ Strong Buy lists for overall stocks, value stocks and income stocks. The broad-based recognition highlights its combination of earnings momentum, valuation and potential income appeal. New Strong Buy Stocks for October 8th
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains favorable: Recent coverage points to optimistic sell-side recommendations, which can support the stock by improving investor confidence and potentially increasing demand. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About SM Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum improved: SM Energy’s shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, a commonly watched bullish technical signal that may attract trend-following investors. SM Energy Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average
• Neutral Sentiment: Other Zacks articles compare SM Energy’s year-to-date performance with peers and examine its value profile, but they do not identify a new operational development or material change to earnings guidance. SM Energy’s previously reported earnings and revenue beats provide additional fundamental support, although the stock remains sensitive to oil and gas prices.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paragon Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 18.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,997 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 211.2% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 21.5% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 137,815 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,655,000 after buying an additional 24,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 7.3% in the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,677 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.32 and a 200-day moving average of $31.94.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%. SM Energy’s revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.32%.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on onshore properties in the United States, with activities concentrated in major producing regions such as the Permian Basin in West Texas and the South Texas Eagle Ford.

The company’s products include crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, which it sells to energy marketers, midstream companies, and other purchasers.