SM

Analyst Rating and Production Forecast: J.P. Morgan analyst Zach Parham maintained a Neutral rating on SM Energy Co with a price target of $41.00, noting that first-quarter oil volumes are expected to slightly exceed guidance at 103.0 MBo/d, while second-quarter projections indicate a 6% increase to 106.9 MBo/d.

Financial Outlook and Strategy: SM Energy anticipates $570 million in EBITDA for the first quarter and plans to prioritize debt reduction over stock buybacks following its $2 billion acquisition of XCL Resources, aiming to reduce leverage below 1x by mid-2025.

Dividend Announcement: SM Energy Company has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on May 5, 2025, to stockholders recorded by April 18, 2025.

Company Overview: SM Energy is an independent energy company focused on the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs primarily in Texas and Utah.

Analyst Ratings: Scott Hanold from RBC Capital maintains a Hold rating on SM Energy with a price target of $45.00, while J.P. Morgan also issued a Hold and Roth MKM maintained a Buy rating.

Insider Activity: Recent corporate insider activity shows positive sentiment towards SM Energy, with insiders increasing their share purchases, including a notable buy by Director Ramiro Peru.

Stock Performance: SM Energy (SM) closed at $30.67, down 0.84%, underperforming the S&P 500 and experiencing a 16.65% decline over the past month. The company is expected to report an EPS of $1.67 and revenue of $836.26 million in its upcoming financial results.

Analyst Estimates and Valuation: SM Energy has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) with a Forward P/E ratio of 4.35, indicating it is undervalued compared to its industry average. Recent estimate revisions suggest analysts are optimistic about the company's performance, correlating with potential share price momentum.

ETF Analyst Target Prices: The WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Fund ETF (DON) has an implied analyst target price of $58.58, indicating a potential upside of 17.51% from its current trading price of $49.85.

Notable Holdings with Upside Potential: Key holdings within DON, such as SM Energy Co., Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc, and Murphy Oil Corp, show significant upside potential based on analysts' target prices, suggesting further investor research is warranted to assess the validity of these targets.

Analyst Ratings Overview: Recent evaluations of SM Energy by six analysts show a mix of bullish, somewhat bullish, indifferent, and bearish sentiments, with an average 12-month price target of $47.17, reflecting a decline from previous estimates.

Financial Performance Indicators: SM Energy demonstrates strong financial health with a revenue growth rate of approximately 37.74%, a net margin of 22.53%, and superior return metrics, although it has a higher debt-to-equity ratio compared to industry averages.

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Analyst Ratings: John Freeman from Raymond James maintains a Buy rating on SM Energy with a price target of $40.00, while the overall analyst consensus suggests a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $49.89, indicating significant upside potential.

Company Performance: SM Energy reported quarterly revenue of $835.86 million and a net profit of $188.28 million, showing growth compared to last year's figures, despite a positive sentiment among corporate insiders who have been buying shares recently.

EnerCom Denver Conference Announcement: The 30th annual EnerCom Denver – The Energy Investment Conference will take place from August 17-20, 2025, at the Westin Downtown Denver, bringing together over 1,000 attendees from the energy sector, including companies, investors, and industry leaders.

Opportunities for Start-ups and Sponsorships: The conference will feature a session for start-up companies focused on energy innovation and sustainability, offering them a platform to present their ideas. Additionally, sponsorship opportunities are available for companies looking to enhance their visibility in the marketplace.

Stock Performance: SM Energy (SM) closed at $27.59, up 1.62%, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.55%. However, its shares have decreased by 27.1% over the past month, underperforming both the Oils-Energy sector and the S&P 500.

Earnings Expectations: Analysts anticipate SM Energy will report earnings of $1.87 per share, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 32.62%, with revenue expected to reach $854.53 million, a 52.63% increase compared to the previous year. The company currently holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Market Performance: Oil & gas refining and marketing shares are down approximately 1.9%, with Delek US Holdings and Calumet experiencing declines of about 7.8% and 6.2%, respectively.

Sector Laggards: The video highlights the underperformance of oil & gas exploration, production, refining, and marketing stocks on Wednesday.

Stock Performance: SM Energy Co. shares hit a 52-week low of $31.59, marking a 40.69% decline from its high of $53.26, necessitating a 68.60% increase to return to that peak.

Insider Activity: Despite the stock's drop, there have been two instances of insider buying in the past six months, raising questions about potential future recovery as current investors face unrealized losses.

Analyst Rating and Price Target: Truist Financial analyst Neal Dingmann has maintained a Hold rating on SM Energy with a price target of $43.00, while the company's shares closed at $33.82. The analyst has a 51.81% success rate and focuses on the Energy sector.

Company Performance: SM Energy reported a quarterly revenue of $643.61 million and a net profit of $240.52 million for the quarter ending September 30, showing growth compared to the previous year’s revenue and profit figures.

Deal Overview: Telefonica has agreed to sell its operations in Argentina for $1.25 billion to a local firm, but the government plans to review the transaction due to potential monopoly concerns.

Market Context: This sale is part of Telefonica's strategy to reduce its presence in Latin America, particularly in challenging markets like Argentina, which faces high inflation and economic difficulties.

SM Energy Co. RSI Analysis: SM Energy Co. has an RSI of 29.6, indicating potential exhaustion of recent selling pressure compared to the average RSI of energy stocks at 49.0 and other benchmarks like WTI Crude Oil at 31.6.

Stock Performance Overview: Currently trading at $33.98, SM's shares are down 1.1% for the day, with a 52-week range between $33.71 and $53.26, suggesting possible entry points for bullish investors.

European Banks Capitalizing on US Dollar Market: European banks have raised nearly $8 billion through the sale of AT1 bonds in the US, driven by strong investor demand for higher yields, with sales outpacing supply significantly.

Investor Concerns and Future Issuance: While the interest in these high-yield bonds continues, there are concerns about extension risk due to low reset spreads. However, European banks are expected to continue issuing more bonds as they capitalize on favorable market conditions.

Petrobras' New FPSO Unit: Petrobras has commenced oil production from its largest floating production, storage, and offloading unit, Almirante Tamandaré, at the Búzios field in Brazil, which can produce up to 225,000 barrels of oil per day and is equipped with decarbonization technologies.

Future Production Goals: The Búzios field, the largest ultra-deepwater oil field globally, is expected to help Petrobras reach a total output of 1 million barrels per day by 2025, with plans to double that capacity to 2 million barrels per day by 2030.

Dividend Investment Strategy: Dividend investors focus on identifying profitable companies with attractive valuations, utilizing a proprietary DividendRank formula to generate a list of promising stocks for further research.

SM Energy Co. Dividend Details: SM Energy Co. pays an annualized dividend of $0.8 per share, with its recent ex-date on January 24, 2025, and analyzing its long-term dividend history is crucial for assessing the sustainability of its dividends.

Contract Award: Shell plc has awarded a $70 million contract to Noble Corporation for the use of its semisubmersible rig, Noble Developer, which will operate for 180 days starting in Q3 2026 after completing a prior contract with Petronas.

Divestiture and Market Outlook: Noble Corporation plans to retire two inactive drillships as part of its commitment to safety and efficiency, while also highlighting investment opportunities in the energy sector with promising growth estimates for companies like SM Energy and Sunoco LP.

Oversold Stocks in Energy Sector: The energy sector has several oversold stocks, including Talos Energy, Dorchester Minerals, and SM Energy, which have RSI values near or below 30, indicating potential buying opportunities for undervalued companies.

Recent Stock Performance: Talos Energy's stock fell 8% recently with an RSI of 27.8, Dorchester Minerals saw a 9% decline with an RSI of 28.8, and SM Energy also dropped around 9% with an RSI of 29, suggesting a trend of declining prices among these companies.