SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.18, but opened at $30.18. SM Energy shares last traded at $29.1080, with a volume of 1,220,649 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SM. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. 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 research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.67.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 15.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth about $4,619,000. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,212,775 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,283,000 after purchasing an additional 201,704 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,190,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 135.2% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 254,766 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,362,000 after purchasing an additional 146,444 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in SM Energy by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,731,350 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $92,202,000 after purchasing an additional 524,105 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.