SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price Down 15.6% – Time to Sell?

Shares of SM Energy (NYSE:SM) fell 15.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.16 and last traded at $25.75. 744,861 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 1,791,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered SM Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on SM Energy from $45.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

SM Energy Trading Down 16.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 3.75.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In other news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SM. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 3,470 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.