SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Down 5.6% - Here's Why

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) shares fell 5.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $22.30 and last traded at $22.35. 806,159 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 2,283,665 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. KeyCorp decreased their target price on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens dropped their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.56.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. SM Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $179,546,000 after purchasing an additional 835,929 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in SM Energy by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock worth $142,718,000 after acquiring an additional 296,601 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in SM Energy by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company's stock worth $103,998,000 after acquiring an additional 767,779 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in SM Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,118,297 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $82,105,000 after purchasing an additional 42,297 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,449,483 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $56,182,000 after purchasing an additional 140,228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company's stock.

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.