SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Down 4.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) fell 4.2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.70 and last traded at $40.21. 1,170,370 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,731,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on SM. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.73.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 4.18.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $643.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.67 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 33.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that SM Energy will post 7.05 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SM. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $200,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in SM Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,792,573 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $71,649,000 after purchasing an additional 12,669 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in SM Energy by 9.6% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,746 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of SM Energy by 144.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,357 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 13,215 shares during the period. 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.