In the latest market close, SM Energy (SM) reached $30.26, with a +0.9% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.64%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.85%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.31%.

Coming into today, shares of the independent oil and gas company had lost 22.14% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector lost 3.15%, while the S&P 500 lost 7.69%.

The upcoming earnings release of SM Energy will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.65, marking a 17.02% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $833.14 million, indicating a 48.81% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $7.12 per share and revenue of $3.47 billion, indicating changes of +4.71% and +29.14%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for SM Energy. 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 company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 12.04% lower. Right now, SM Energy possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, SM Energy is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 4.21. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 8.06, 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. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 39, this industry ranks in the top 16% of all industries, numbering over 250.

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

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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