SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $29.00. The stock had previously closed at $28.26, but opened at $27.56. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. SM Energy shares last traded at $27.09, with a volume of 225,467 shares traded.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna cut their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $34.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,269,443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $457,320,000 after buying an additional 69,933 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock worth $179,546,000 after buying an additional 835,929 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,909,004 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $117,075,000 after acquiring an additional 226,911 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 51.4% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,207,245 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $96,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $103,998,000 after acquiring an additional 767,779 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 2.19.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 27.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.