SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price Up 6.5% – Still a Buy?

27 Feb 2026, 19:40 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM – Get Free Report) shares rose 6.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $22.53 and last traded at $22.4950. Approximately 3,686,288 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 6,944,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.13.

SM Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting SM Energy this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat consensus ($0.83 vs. $0.73) driven by lower expenses and stronger margins — a near‑term earnings surprise that supports the stock. SM Q4 Earnings Top Estimates on Lower Expenses, Revenues Fall Y/Y
Positive Sentiment: Management raised its quarterly dividend 10% (to $0.22) and unveiled a 2026 framework to accelerate capital return while maximizing free cash flow — supportive for income and total‑return investors. SM ENERGY PROVIDES 2026 OUTLOOK
Positive Sentiment: SM reported record 2025 production and record operating cash flow/adjusted EBITDA after the Civitas merger, underpinning longer‑term scale and cash generation expectations. SM Energy Posts Record 2025 Results After Civitas Merger
Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $49 following asset divestitures in South Texas, signaling at least one analyst sees significant upside post‑transactions. Stephens Raised Target Price on SM Energy (SM) to $49, Following Divesture of Some South Texas Assets
Neutral Sentiment: Company posted its earnings slide deck and call transcript (useful for details on guidance, capex and asset‑sale plans). SM Energy Company 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
Positive Sentiment: Notable decline in short interest in February reduces one pressure point on the stock and can amplify upside on positive catalysts.
Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations ($705M vs. $764M est.) and was down ~17% YoY as realized commodity prices softened and production edged lower — a headwind for near‑term top‑line growth. SM Energy earnings summary
Negative Sentiment: Analysts and coverage highlight a post‑merger earnings test and an ongoing asset‑sale push — execution risk if divestitures or integration underperform expectations. SM Energy faces postmerger earnings test amid asset sale push
Negative Sentiment: The stock had pulled back earlier in the week on mixed results and market reaction to the revenue/commodity‑price weakness, so upside depends on follow‑through from the company’s FCF execution and asset‑sale progress. SM Energy (SM) Posts Mixed Results for Q4 2025

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens increased their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded SM Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of SM Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of SM Energy from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of SM Energy from $36.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.20.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on SM

SM Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.70 and its 200 day moving average is $21.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. SM Energy had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $764.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This is a positive change from SM Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. SM Energy’s payout ratio is 14.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SM. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $4,134,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 19.9% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,212,775 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,283,000 after acquiring an additional 201,704 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 33.1% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 294,546 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,278,000 after acquiring an additional 73,240 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of SM Energy by 135.2% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 254,766 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,362,000 after acquiring an additional 146,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the second quarter valued at about $1,709,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

About SM Energy

(Get Free Report)

SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy’s operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company’s core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.