SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Down 3.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 3.9% to about $27.72 on Tuesday (intraday low $27.65) with 721,398 shares traded, an 89% decline versus the stock's average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $33.31, and notable upgrades/targets include KeyCorp $39 (overweight) and JPMorgan $40 (overweight) while TD Cowen trimmed its target to $30.
• Mixed quarterly results and a bigger dividend: SM reported EPS of $0.83 (beat $0.73 est) but revenue missed at $704.9M and was down 17.3% year‑over‑year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 (annualized $0.88, ~3.2% yield).

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) traded down 3.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $27.65 and last traded at $27.7230. 721,398 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 6,836,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SM. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SM Energy from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SM Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SM Energy from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.31.

SM Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $25.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $704.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 20.55%.SM Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.58%.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in SM Energy by 160.5% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% during 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. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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