SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price Up 5.4% – Time to Buy?

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s share price was up 5.4% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $32.74 and last traded at $32.8410. Approximately 1,275,935 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 4,774,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SM shares. Scotiabank began coverage on SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho set a $39.00 price target on SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.82.

SM Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.74. The company has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 0.80.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 13.69%. The business’s revenue was up 167.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $139,722.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,457. This represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total transaction of $647,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at $544,379.10. This trade represents a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. AlphaGrep UK Ltd grew its holdings in SM Energy by 57.6% during the third quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd now owns 14,608 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,341 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 40.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,293,145 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $43,682,000 after buying an additional 375,010 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,416,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,279,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $306,000. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company is an independent oil and gas company focused on acquiring, exploring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations are concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in the Permian Basin and the South Texas region. The company’s business includes developing oil and gas properties and managing the infrastructure and operations needed to bring production to market. Its portfolio has evolved over time as SM Energy has made acquisitions and divested assets to focus on its core areas.