SM Energy's (SM) Operations Return To Pre-Harvey Levels

Upstream energy player SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) has provided the update on the impact of Hurricane Harvey on its operations.

The firm announced that its oil and natural gas resources were mostly out of Harvey’s path. Hence, all the fields were not affected.

Some of the upstream resources were forced to curtail production as the storm hurt some third party’s downstream properties. However, as of now, all the resources have started operating at a level, the firm was producing before the storm.

SM Energy added that the hurricane will likely dampen its third-quarter production guidance to 10.6-11 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe). Meanwhile, the company confirmed that none of its employees were injured by the storm. The Houston office of the company is still closed as the lower floors are flooded, forcing employees to work from home.

Moreover, the day-to-day operations in the Eagle Ford area are being monitored from the field office of SM Energy, located in Catarina, TX.

Denver, CO-based SM Energy engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas properties. We appreciate the company’s decision to increase highly productive Permian Basin acreage to boost shareholders’ return.

However, the company’s price performance fails to impress. Year to date, SM Energy fell 54.4% as compared with the industry’s 27.7% decline.

SM Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), implying that the stock will perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.

A few better-ranked players in the energy sector are TransCanada Corporation (TO:TRP) , Transmontaigne Partners LP (NYSE:TLP) and Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) . All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Headquartered in Calgary, Canada, TransCanada is a midstream energy firm in North America. The company posted an average positive earnings surprise of 4.06% over the last four quarters.

Transmontaigne, headquartered in Denver, CO, is involved in the transportation and storage of refined petroleum products. The firm recorded an average positive earnings surprise of 6.60% over the last four quarters.

Based in Fort Worth, TX, Range Resources is an independent oil and gas company, engaged in the exploration, development and acquisition of U.S. oil and gas resources. The company’s 2017 earnings are estimated to grow 116.5%.

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