Wall Street Zen Upgrades Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) to Buy

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Smart Sand from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Smart Sand Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SND opened at $4.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $204.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.05 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.78 and its 200 day moving average is $4.16.

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $93.11 million during the quarter.

Smart Sand declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Smart Sand

In related news, Director Francis Michael Porcelli sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 869,060 shares in the company, valued at $3,493,621.20. This trade represents a 14.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 375,000 shares of company stock worth $1,485,250. 32.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smart Sand

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SND. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smart Sand in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smart Sand in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Smart Sand in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Smart Sand by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Smart Sand in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. 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.