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SM Energy (SM) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

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SM Energy (SM - Free Report) closed at $25.38 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.82% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.37%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.14%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.71%.

The independent oil and gas company's stock has dropped by 3.97% in the past month, falling short of the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 2.31% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.26%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of SM Energy in its upcoming earnings disclosure. In that report, analysts expect SM Energy to post earnings of $1.37 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 15.43%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $850.96 million, up 32.22% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.82 per share and revenue of $3.33 billion. These totals would mark changes of -14.41% and +23.89%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for SM Energy. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Right now, SM Energy possesses a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

In the context of valuation, SM Energy is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 4.44. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 11.06, so one might conclude that SM Energy is trading at a discount comparatively.

The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 214, placing it within the bottom 14% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow SM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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