SM Energy (SM) Competitors

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

Do institutionals & insiders believe in RRC or SM?

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

Does the media prefer RRC or SM?

In the previous week, Range Resources had 5 more articles in the media than SM Energy. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Range Resources and 6 mentions for SM Energy. SM Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.43 beat Range Resources' score of 1.00 indicating that SM Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Range Resources	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
SM Energy	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is RRC or SM a better dividend stock?

Range Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. SM Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Range Resources pays out 32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SM Energy pays out 11.2% 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. Range Resources has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and 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.

Which has more risk & volatility, RRC or SM?

Range Resources has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SM Energy has a beta of 2.19, meaning that its stock price is 119% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate RRC or SM?

Range Resources presently has a consensus price target of $41.95, suggesting a potential upside of 5.38%. SM Energy has a consensus price target of $42.42, suggesting a potential upside of 57.39%. Given SM Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SM Energy is more favorable than Range Resources.

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

Is RRC or SM 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
Range Resources	17.63%	13.69%	7.21%
SM Energy	28.63%	19.82%	10.59%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, RRC or SM?

Range Resources has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Range Resources	$2.60B	3.66	$871.14M	$1.12	35.54
SM Energy	$2.95B	1.05	$817.88M	$7.14	3.77

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in RRC or SM?

Range Resources received 206 more outperform votes than SM Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.95% of users gave SM Energy an outperform vote while only 58.38% of users gave Range Resources an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Range Resources	Outperform Votes 1038 58.38%	Underperform Votes 740 41.62%
SM Energy	Outperform Votes 832 64.95%	Underperform Votes 449 35.05%

Summary

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