SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) gapped down prior to trading 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised SM Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Roth Capital upgraded SM Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on SM Energy from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.53.

SM Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 3.45% and a return on equity of 13.93%. SM Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that SM Energy Company will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.97%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Torren Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% in the first quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 332.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. 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.