Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smart Sand in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smart Sand has an average rating of “Hold”.

Smart Sand Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SND opened at $3.81 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4.50 and its 200 day moving average is $3.24. The firm has a market cap of $165.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.00 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.76. Smart Sand has a 52-week low of $1.76 and a 52-week high of $5.59.

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.00 million. Smart Sand had a negative return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 0.41%. Research analysts predict that Smart Sand will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Smart Sand declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Smart Sand

In related news, Director Francis Michael Porcelli sold 150,000 shares of Smart Sand stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.02, for a total transaction of $603,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 869,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,493,621.20. This trade represents a 14.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 32.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smart Sand

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gendell Jeffrey L raised its holdings in shares of Smart Sand by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 3,126,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,508,000 after acquiring an additional 430,507 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Smart Sand during the fourth quarter worth about $1,539,000. Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smart Sand during the fourth quarter worth about $961,000. Truffle Hound Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Smart Sand in the fourth quarter worth approximately $880,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Smart Sand by 97.8% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 309,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 153,238 shares during the last quarter. 35.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Smart Sand Company Profile

Smart Sand, Inc (NASDAQ:SND) is a U.S.-based industrial mineral company specializing in the mining, processing and distribution of high-purity silica sand. The company’s primary business centers on the production of frac sand for the oil and gas industry, as well as specialty sand products for foundry, glass and construction applications. Through an integrated network of mines, processing plants and trans-load facilities, Smart Sand delivers precision-engineered sand solutions designed to meet stringent performance and purity requirements.

Smart Sand’s operations include flagship mining and processing facilities in Wisconsin, which supply Northern White silica sand, and production sites in Texas, strategically located to serve major U.S.