SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $30.74 and traded as high as $31.16. SM Energy shares last traded at $31.1180, with a volume of 3,568,477 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Zacks Research cut SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.82.

SM Energy Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.81.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.06). SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 13.69%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 167.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 8.00 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were given 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 2.7%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,457. This trade represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,379.10. The trade was a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the second quarter worth $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the second quarter worth $378,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 79.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $311,678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,751 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the second quarter valued at $199,602,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter worth about $53,257,807. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company is an independent oil and gas company focused on acquiring, exploring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations are concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in the Permian Basin and the South Texas region. The company’s business includes developing oil and gas properties and managing the infrastructure and operations needed to bring production to market. Its portfolio has evolved over time as SM Energy has made acquisitions and divested assets to focus on its core areas.