SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $31.15, but opened at $29.22. SM Energy shares last traded at $28.9640, with a volume of 533,471 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on SM Energy from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. TD Cowen cut their target price on SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. KeyCorp upped their price target on SM Energy from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded SM Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of SM Energy from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.07.

SM Energy Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.04.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.97%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 160.5% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.