SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Down 5.8%

SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Rating) shares dropped 5.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $30.92 and last traded at $30.96. Approximately 358,979 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 1,548,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of SM Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $55.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 19th. KeyCorp cut their price target on SM Energy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 8th. Mizuho began coverage on SM Energy in a research report on Monday, January 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.75.

SM Energy Trading Down 5.3 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.28 and a 200 day moving average of $39.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 4.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.05. SM Energy had a net margin of 36.09% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $835.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.92 million. Equities research analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 19th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 2.92%.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in SM Energy by 88.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,229,142 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $86,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,602 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 405.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,183,200 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,086,000 after purchasing an additional 948,900 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,249,967 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $126,586,000 after purchasing an additional 849,019 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,002,705 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $272,755,000 after purchasing an additional 842,589 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,776,381 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $60,735,000 after purchasing an additional 705,246 shares during the last quarter. 89.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

SM Energy Co is an independent energy company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations are located in Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.