SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $31.15, but opened at $29.22. SM Energy shares last traded at $28.9640, with a volume of 533,471 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on SM shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of SM Energy from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.07.

SM Energy Stock Down 7.5%

The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.72. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.91.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 3.45%.The business’s revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that SM Energy Company will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 36.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. The trade was a 27.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,619,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,190,000. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,610,000 after acquiring an additional 54,428 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 574,107 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $14,335,000 after acquiring an additional 237,537 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 356,608 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,905,000 after acquiring an additional 65,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

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.