SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Down 4.4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) traded down 4.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $39.34 and last traded at $39.4880. Approximately 454,070 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 5,083,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho raised SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of SM Energy in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.38.

SM Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.77. The firm has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 0.75.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 215.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in SM Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $378,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in SM Energy by 79.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $311,678,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,751 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the second quarter worth about $199,602,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in SM Energy in the second quarter worth about $53,257,807. 94.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations focus on acquiring and developing oil and gas properties and producing hydrocarbons from onshore assets in the United States.

The company’s principal operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and the South Texas region. SM Energy has also expanded its U.S. operating portfolio through acquisitions, including assets in Utah’s Uinta Basin.