Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 598,024 shares, a growth of 49.6% from the March 15th total of 399,859 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 434,689 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Smart Sand Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ SND opened at $4.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Smart Sand has a 1-year low of $1.76 and a 1-year high of $5.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.74. The company has a market capitalization of $215.91 million, a PE ratio of 163.77 and a beta of 0.36.

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.06. Smart Sand had a negative return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 0.41%.The firm had revenue of $86.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Smart Sand will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smart Sand announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Smart Sand Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smart Sand in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Smart Sand from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Smart Sand news, Director Francis Michael Porcelli sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.02, for a total transaction of $603,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 869,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,493,621.20. The trade was a 14.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,000 shares of company stock worth $1,485,250. Insiders own 34.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SND. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Smart Sand by 625.9% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 115,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 99,706 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Smart Sand by 156.8% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 207,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 126,848 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Smart Sand by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 286,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 10,444 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smart Sand during the 4th quarter valued at about $325,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Smart Sand by 555.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 175,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 148,346 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.21% of the company’s stock.

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.