SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s share price dropped 4.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $31.31 and last traded at $31.2630. Approximately 2,691,267 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 5,840,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on SM shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of SM Energy from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Susquehanna raised their price target on SM Energy from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded SM Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.07.

SM Energy Stock Down 4.5%

The firm has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.72.

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

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 36.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the company’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 owned 65,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,456.72. This represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 4,561.1% in the 1st 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. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SM Energy by 332.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.