SM Energy (SM) ended the recent trading session at $27.56, demonstrating a -3.37% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.14%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.2%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.27%.
Shares of the independent oil and gas company have appreciated by 0.92% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 2.89%, and the S&P 500's gain of 3.97%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of SM Energy in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.22, reflecting a 34.05% decrease from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $784.5 million, indicating a 23.63% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $5.73 per share and revenue of $3.3 billion, indicating changes of -15.74% and +22.62%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for SM Energy should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.13% higher. SM Energy presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, SM Energy is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 4.98. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 11.44.
The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 190, this industry ranks in the bottom 24% of all industries, numbering over 250.
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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
SM Energy Company (SM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
