SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Down 4.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) fell 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $31.31 and last traded at $31.2630. 2,691,267 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 5,840,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SM. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.07.

SM Energy Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.97%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cozad Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,633,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 32.8% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 597,420 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $18,628,000 after buying an additional 147,569 shares during the last quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth $262,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 57.8% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 223,193 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,959,000 after buying an additional 81,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth $223,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.