SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Down 4.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• SM Energy's stock price declined by 4.9%, reaching a low of $26.00 during trading, with a significant volume drop to 957,994 shares exchanged, compared to the average of 2,202,337 shares.
• Recent analyst ratings for SM Energy show a mixed response, with one strong-buy, three buy, six hold, and one sell rating, indicating a current average rating of "Hold" with a price target of $42.08.
• SM Energy reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.50 exceeding estimates and reflecting a revenue increase of 25.0% year-over-year, although the company's annual dividend yield stands at 3.1% with a payout ratio of 11.30%.

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 4.9% on Friday . The company traded as low as $26.00 and last traded at $26.01. 957,994 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 2,202,337 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $44.00 to $39.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen upgraded SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial downgraded SM Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on SM Energy from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.08.

SM Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $27.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 2.47.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $792.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.58 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 18.06%. SM Energy's revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in SM Energy by 28.7% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 108,132 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,671,000 after acquiring an additional 24,090 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy during the second quarter worth about $202,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $92,202,000 after acquiring an additional 524,105 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 219,898 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,434,000 after purchasing an additional 72,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 437,534 shares of the energy company's stock worth $10,811,000 after purchasing an additional 32,202 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.