SM Energy (SM) to Release Earnings on Thursday

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, October 31st. Analysts expect SM Energy to post earnings of $1.53 per share for the quarter. Individual that wish to register for the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $634.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $616.63 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect SM Energy to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

SM Energy Price Performance

SM traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.71. 899,565 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,742,343. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 4.18. SM Energy has a one year low of $34.13 and a one year high of $53.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.72.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is a boost from SM Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SM has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on SM Energy from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised SM Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.73.

About SM Energy

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.