SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $38.98, but opened at $43.00. SM Energy shares last traded at $41.85, with a volume of 171,622 shares trading hands.

The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. SM Energy had a net margin of 31.80% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $634.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $616.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SM Energy news, SVP Kenneth J. Knott sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $804,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 114,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,756,808.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 27.7% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 22,839 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 4,950 shares during the period. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter worth $359,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 929.6% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,159,488 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $50,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,872 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the second quarter worth $530,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of SM Energy by 1.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,361,149 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $102,072,000 after acquiring an additional 28,005 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 4.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.