SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Hits New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $28.34 and last traded at $28.89, with a volume of 3076755 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SM. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho cut their price target on SM Energy from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on SM Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.90.

SM Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 4.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.18.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $852.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.44 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 28.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.98%.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In related news, Director Barton R. Brookman, Jr. bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.36 per share, with a total value of $226,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,666 shares in the company, valued at $474,591.76. The trade was a 91.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SM Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 114,664 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of SM Energy by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,632,255 shares of the energy company's stock worth $179,546,000 after acquiring an additional 835,929 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 2,515.6% in the 3rd 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. grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,682,093 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $142,718,000 after buying an additional 296,601 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in SM Energy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,693,372 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $107,675,000 after purchasing an additional 29,911 shares during the last quarter. 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.