SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Issues Earnings Results

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The energy company reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.06), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.

SM Energy Price Performance

Shares of SM stock traded down $0.73 on Tuesday, reaching $36.71. 2,983,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,790,915. The company has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. SM Energy has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $41.56.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SM. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. KeyCorp increased their price target on SM Energy from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Stephens dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% 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 owned by corporate insiders.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include acquiring prospective acreage, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing properties in U.S. onshore oil and gas basins.

The company’s operations are primarily concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford shale region in South Texas. SM Energy focuses on development of unconventional resources and uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to produce hydrocarbons from shale and other tight-rock formations.

Founded in 1908 as St.