SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.85 and traded as high as $35.88. SM Energy shares last traded at $35.2890, with a volume of 2,348,556 shares trading hands.

SM Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgrades SM Energy to Strong Buy: The upgrade reinforces the company’s improving earnings-estimate and valuation outlook, potentially encouraging additional buying from momentum- and quantitative-focused investors. Should Value Investors Buy SM Energy Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Added to multiple Zacks Strong Buy lists: SM Energy was included in Zacks’ Strong Buy lists for overall stocks, value stocks and income stocks. The broad-based recognition highlights its combination of earnings momentum, valuation and potential income appeal. New Strong Buy Stocks for October 8th
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains favorable: Recent coverage points to optimistic sell-side recommendations, which can support the stock by improving investor confidence and potentially increasing demand. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About SM Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum improved: SM Energy’s shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, a commonly watched bullish technical signal that may attract trend-following investors. SM Energy Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average
• Neutral Sentiment: Other Zacks articles compare SM Energy’s year-to-date performance with peers and examine its value profile, but they do not identify a new operational development or material change to earnings guidance. SM Energy’s previously reported earnings and revenue beats provide additional fundamental support, although the stock remains sensitive to oil and gas prices.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised SM Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised SM Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.81.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.90.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,457. This trade represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 112.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,115 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after buying an additional 49,740 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,243,000. Readystate Asset Management LP grew its position in SM Energy by 293.3% in the 2nd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 222,880 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 166,208 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,299,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,053,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on onshore properties in the United States, with activities concentrated in major producing regions such as the Permian Basin in West Texas and the South Texas Eagle Ford.

The company’s products include crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, which it sells to energy marketers, midstream companies, and other purchasers.