SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $33.19, but opened at $31.72. SM Energy shares last traded at $31.81, with a volume of 379,060 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Stephens cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.53.

SM Energy Trading Down 1.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.07.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total value of $834,310.94. Following the sale, the director directly owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in SM Energy by 160.5% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

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.