SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Shares Up 6.5% – Should You Buy?

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)’s stock price was up 6.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $22.53 and last traded at $22.4950. Approximately 3,686,288 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 6,944,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.13.

More SM Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat consensus ($0.83 vs. $0.73) driven by lower expenses and stronger margins — a near‑term earnings surprise that supports the stock. SM Q4 Earnings Top Estimates on Lower Expenses, Revenues Fall Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its quarterly dividend 10% (to $0.22) and unveiled a 2026 framework to accelerate capital return while maximizing free cash flow — supportive for income and total‑return investors. SM ENERGY PROVIDES 2026 OUTLOOK
• Positive Sentiment: SM reported record 2025 production and record operating cash flow/adjusted EBITDA after the Civitas merger, underpinning longer‑term scale and cash generation expectations. SM Energy Posts Record 2025 Results After Civitas Merger
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $49 following asset divestitures in South Texas, signaling at least one analyst sees significant upside post‑transactions. Stephens Raised Target Price on SM Energy (SM) to $49, Following Divesture of Some South Texas Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Company posted its earnings slide deck and call transcript (useful for details on guidance, capex and asset‑sale plans). SM Energy Company 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Notable decline in short interest in February reduces one pressure point on the stock and can amplify upside on positive catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations ($705M vs. $764M est.) and was down ~17% YoY as realized commodity prices softened and production edged lower — a headwind for near‑term top‑line growth. SM Energy earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and coverage highlight a post‑merger earnings test and an ongoing asset‑sale push — execution risk if divestitures or integration underperform expectations. SM Energy faces postmerger earnings test amid asset sale push
• Negative Sentiment: The stock had pulled back earlier in the week on mixed results and market reaction to the revenue/commodity‑price weakness, so upside depends on follow‑through from the company’s FCF execution and asset‑sale progress. SM Energy (SM) Posts Mixed Results for Q4 2025

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SM shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of SM Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $34.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.20.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $764.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. SM Energy’s payout ratio is currently 14.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 160.5% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 10,461.5% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,373 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. 94.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.