SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Director Sells 3,650 Shares

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $139,722.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $479,457. This represents a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

SM Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of SM Energy stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.11. The stock had a trading volume of 3,515,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,116,227. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. SM Energy Company has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $38.94.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC grew its holdings in SM Energy by 4,561.1% during the 1st quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SM Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 94.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SM shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on SM Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.19.

SM Energy Company Profile

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.