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

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $43.48, but opened at $41.32. SM Energy shares last traded at $41.65, with a volume of 87,934 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SM. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.73.

SM Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.62 and a 200 day moving average of $45.42.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 509.7% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 567 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 461.9% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 590 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in SM Energy by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.