SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Down 4.4% – Here’s Why

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s share price was down 4.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $39.34 and last traded at $39.4880. Approximately 454,070 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 5,083,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Stephens lowered their price target on SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.38.

SM Energy Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.75 and a 200 day moving average of $30.77. The company has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.23. SM Energy had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,379.10. This represents a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $139,722.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,457. This represents a 22.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $378,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 79.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $311,678,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,751 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $199,602,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $53,257,807. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on acquiring and developing oil and gas properties and producing hydrocarbons from onshore assets in the United States.

The company’s principal operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and the South Texas region. SM Energy has also expanded its U.S. operating portfolio through acquisitions, including assets in Utah’s Uinta Basin.