In the latest trading session, SM Energy (SM) closed at $30.67, marking a -0.84% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.08% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.08%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.52%.

Coming into today, shares of the independent oil and gas company had lost 16.65% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector lost 1.36%, while the S&P 500 lost 7.33%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of SM Energy in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.67, marking a 18.44% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $836.26 million, indicating a 49.37% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $7.11 per share and a revenue of $3.47 billion, signifying shifts of +4.56% and +29.04%, respectively, from the last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for SM Energy. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 12.21% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Right now, SM Energy possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, SM Energy is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 4.35. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 8.43.

The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 71, putting it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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