SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.42, but opened at $24.49. SM Energy shares last traded at $23.99, with a volume of 329,471 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SM shares. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho lowered 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. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.42.

SM Energy Stock Down 4.2%

The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 2.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.98.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. SM Energy's quarterly revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,306 shares of the energy company's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $539,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in SM Energy by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 123,349 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,694,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in SM Energy by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 104,654 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About SM Energy

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.