SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Down 5.6% – Should You Sell?

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) was down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $22.30 and last traded at $22.35. Approximately 806,159 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 2,283,665 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SM shares. Williams Trading set a $41.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stephens lowered their price target on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $59.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

SM Energy Stock Down 3.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 2.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.96.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 11.20%.

Insider Activity at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. purchased 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in SM Energy by 200.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SM Energy by 172.8% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. 94.56% of the stock is currently 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.