SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $32.19 and last traded at $32.34, with a volume of 2959655 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SM Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $53.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of SM Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Trading Down 8.2 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.16 and a 200 day moving average of $41.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 4.11.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $852.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SM Energy will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. SM Energy's payout ratio is 11.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SM Energy news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474,591.76. This trade represents a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SM. State Street Corp increased its position in SM Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,287,815 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $251,324,000 after purchasing an additional 114,664 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $179,546,000 after purchasing an additional 835,929 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 2,515.6% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463,443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $178,404,000 after buying an additional 4,292,793 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in SM Energy by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock worth $142,718,000 after buying an additional 296,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SM Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,693,372 shares of the energy company's stock worth $107,675,000 after buying an additional 29,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.