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

Key Points

• SM Energy shares fell 5.6%, opening at $31.72 versus the prior close of $33.19, while recent trading volume reached 379,060 shares.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $36.53, implying upside from the reported trading price.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.55, beating estimates by $0.42, and revenue rose 75% year over year to $1.48 billion. SM Energy also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding about 2.8% annually.

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $33.19, but opened at $31.72. SM Energy shares last traded at $31.81, with a volume of 379,060 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SM. Weiss Ratings raised SM Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on SM Energy from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on SM Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.53.

SM Energy Stock Down 5.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.23 and a 200-day moving average of $26.90.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 65,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,108 shares of the energy company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC increased its stake in SM Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 13,777 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in SM Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,417 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $868,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its position in SM Energy by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,748 shares of the energy company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

About SM Energy

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.

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