SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Down 15.6% – Here’s What Happened

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) dropped 15.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.16 and last traded at $25.75. Approximately 744,861 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 1,791,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Williams Trading set a $41.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

SM Energy Stock Down 12.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 3.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. The company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 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, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. acquired 7,000 shares of SM Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, for a total transaction of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in SM Energy in the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 517.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.