SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.23 EPS

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 19.85%. SM Energy’s revenue was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share.

SM Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SM traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.04. The stock had a trading volume of 985,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,338,508. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $35.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.82 and a 200 day moving average of $27.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.73.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens dropped their target price on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on SM Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.53.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 91,916 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,753,000 after acquiring an additional 19,965 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 145,922 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,370,000 after buying an additional 44,542 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,111 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after buying an additional 2,969 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in SM Energy during the first quarter worth $222,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.