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SM Energy (SM) to Post Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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SM Energy Company (SM - Free Report) is set to report its fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 22, after the closing bell.

In the last reported quarter, the independent energy company reported earnings of $1.82 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.77 per share on higher realizations of commodity prices.

In the trailing four quarters, SM Energy beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the bottom line thrice and missed once, delivering an earnings surprise of 10.2% on average. This is depicted in the graph below:

Let’s see how things have shaped up prior to the announcement.

SM Energy Company Price and EPS Surprise

SM Energy Company Price and EPS Surprise

SM Energy Company price-eps-surprise | SM Energy Company Quote

Estimate Trend

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.21 has witnessed one downward movement in the past seven days. The consensus estimate suggests a year-over-year increase of 6.1%.

Factors to Consider

In the December quarter, prices of crude oil and natural increased significantly compared to the prior-year quarter. Healthier commodity prices are likely to have aided SM Energy as the company conducts exploration, development and production activities. However, lower production is likely to have offset the positive. SM Energy expects fourth-quarter production in the band of 138-143 MBoe/d, suggesting a decline from 158 MBoe/d in the year-ago quarter.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for SM Energy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. As you can see, that is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: SM Energy has an Earnings ESP of -4.86%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: SM currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some companies from the Energy space that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the upcoming quarterly reports:

Viper Energy Partners LP (VNOM - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.57% and is a Zacks #3 Ranked player. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Viper Energy is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 21. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VNOM’s earnings is pegged at 27 cents per share.

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.23% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

Northern Oil and Gas is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 23. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOG’s earnings is pegged at $1.65 per share, suggesting a significant increase from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

PDC Energy, Inc. has an Earnings ESP of +1.64% and is a Zacks #3 Ranked player at present.

PDC Energy is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 22. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PDCE’s quarterly earnings is pegged at $3.05 per share, suggesting an increase from the prior-year reported figure.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.


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