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

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $31.15, but opened at $29.22. SM Energy shares last traded at $28.9640, with a volume of 533,471 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SM Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on SM Energy from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho upped their target price on SM Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on SM Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.07.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.91.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The business’s revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the sale, the director directly owned 65,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,417 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $868,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,748 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% in 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 grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,860 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,211 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.