SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

SM Energy (NYSE:SM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $32.19 and last traded at $32.34, with a volume of 2959655 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 4.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.47.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 14,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,591.76. This represents a 91.31 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,206 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,970 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,800 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,791,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,718 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,321 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.