Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) Reaches New 1-Year High on Earnings Beat

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Inc (NYSE:SMA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $39.48 and last traded at $37.99, with a volume of 79,237 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.14.

The healthcare company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $81.78 million during the quarter. Smartstop Self Storage REIT had a net margin of 9.68% and a return on equity of 2.33%.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1315 per share. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a drop from Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s previous monthly dividend of $0.1359. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s dividend payout ratio is 319.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SMA shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. National Bank Financial raised their price objective on Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $38.50 to $39.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Smartstop Self Storage REIT in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.42.

Insider Activity at Smartstop Self Storage REIT

In other news, General Counsel Nicholas Look sold 1,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total value of $35,219.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 588 shares in the company, valued at $20,203.68. This trade represents a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,300 shares of company stock worth $77,604 over the last ninety days. 5.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Smartstop Self Storage REIT

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMA. Irenic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,490,000. Conversant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in the 1st quarter worth $25,972,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,596,133 shares of the healthcare company’s stock worth $78,611,000 after acquiring an additional 528,974 shares during the last quarter. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT during the 1st quarter worth $10,689,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT during the 1st quarter worth $2,899,000.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.68. The company has a current ratio of 5.28, a quick ratio of 5.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 75.20 and a beta of 0.27.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Company Profile

SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc (NYSE: SMA) is a self-managed real estate investment trust focused on owning, operating and acquiring self-storage properties. Its facilities provide individuals and businesses with storage units in a range of sizes, along with related services such as online reservations, electronic access and tenant protection offerings.

The company serves customers primarily in the United States and also has exposure to the Canadian self-storage market. Its portfolio includes conventional self-storage facilities and properties offering vehicle, commercial and other specialized storage options.