SM Energy (SM) Competitors

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) and Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, community ranking, earnings, valuation and media sentiment.

Which has more risk and volatility, SM or RRC?

SM Energy has a beta of 3.75, meaning that its share price is 275% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Range Resources has a beta of 1.73, meaning that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SM or RRC a better dividend stock?

SM Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Range Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. SM Energy pays out 12.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Range Resources pays out 32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SM Energy has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. SM Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor SM or RRC?

In the previous week, SM Energy had 8 more articles in the media than Range Resources. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for SM Energy and 11 mentions for Range Resources. Range Resources' average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat SM Energy's score of 1.06 indicating that Range Resources is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
SM Energy	9 Very Positive mention(s)	8 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Range Resources	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings & valuation, SM or RRC?

Range Resources has lower revenue, but higher earnings than SM Energy. SM Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Range Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SM Energy	$2.67B	0.97	$817.88M	$6.68	3.41
Range Resources	$2.60B	3.22	$871.14M	$1.12	31.21

Is SM or RRC more profitable?

SM Energy has a net margin of 28.63% compared to Range Resources' net margin of 17.63%. SM Energy's return on equity of 19.82% beat Range Resources' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SM Energy	28.63%	19.82%	10.59%
Range Resources	17.63%	13.69%	7.21%

Do analysts recommend SM or RRC?

SM Energy presently has a consensus price target of $44.00, suggesting a potential upside of 93.41%. Range Resources has a consensus price target of $41.50, suggesting a potential upside of 18.71%. Given SM Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe SM Energy is more favorable than Range Resources.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SM Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.62
Range Resources	1 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of SM or RRC?

94.6% of SM Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Range Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of SM Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Range Resources shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SM or RRC?

Range Resources received 206 more outperform votes than SM Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.89% of users gave SM Energy an outperform vote while only 58.43% of users gave Range Resources an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
SM Energy	Outperform Votes 830 64.89%	Underperform Votes 449 35.11%
Range Resources	Outperform Votes 1036 58.43%	Underperform Votes 737 41.57%

Summary

SM Energy beats Range Resources on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.