SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $35.25, but opened at $36.64. SM Energy shares last traded at $36.7650, with a volume of 265,165 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp increased their target price on SM Energy from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.81.

SM Energy Trading Up 5.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.85.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This represents a 54.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 112.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,115 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 49,740 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in SM Energy during the second quarter worth about $2,243,000. Readystate Asset Management LP grew its holdings in SM Energy by 293.3% in the second quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 222,880 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,817,000 after purchasing an additional 166,208 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the first quarter worth about $13,299,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,053,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on onshore properties in the United States, with activities concentrated in major producing regions such as the Permian Basin in West Texas and the South Texas Eagle Ford.

The company’s products include crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, which it sells to energy marketers, midstream companies, and other purchasers.