SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.18, but opened at $30.18. SM Energy shares last traded at $29.1080, with a volume of 1,220,649 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on SM Energy from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research raised SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.67.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $704.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $764.40 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.47%. SM Energy’s revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Research analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SM. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 205.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,835,718 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $53,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,255 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 268.3% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,271,757 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $42,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,891 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 198.9% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,429,518 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $60,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616,822 shares during the period. Sagefield Capital LP acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $20,275,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,179,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.