SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $26.79, but opened at $26.00. SM Energy shares last traded at $26.7570, with a volume of 1,066,814 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SM shares. Stephens boosted their target price on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.43 and its 200 day moving average is $21.65.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 15.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,257,360 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $118,267,000 after purchasing an additional 107,295 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,921,769 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $147,876,000 after acquiring an additional 30,951 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,585,624 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $114,503,000 after purchasing an additional 375,754 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 16.3% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,731,350 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $92,202,000 after purchasing an additional 524,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in SM Energy by 205.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $53,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,255 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.