SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $35.68 and last traded at $35.51, with a volume of 359995 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho cut their price objective on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Down 7.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 4.11. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.79.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The energy company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.09). SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. Equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SM. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of SM Energy by 2,515.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $178,404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,793 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $179,546,000 after acquiring an additional 835,929 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,683,131 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $103,998,000 after acquiring an additional 767,779 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,059,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in SM Energy by 214.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 519,302 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $20,128,000 after purchasing an additional 354,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.