Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) Cut to Hold at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker cut shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $40.00 price objective on the healthcare company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $38.00.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SMA. Truist Financial downgraded Smartstop Self Storage REIT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, October 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. National Bank Financial raised their price target on Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $38.50 to $39.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smartstop Self Storage REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Stock Performance

NYSE:SMA opened at $38.86 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.96 and its 200 day moving average is $32.83. Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a fifty-two week low of $29.41 and a fifty-two week high of $40.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 5.28 and a current ratio of 4.20.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The healthcare company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.34). Smartstop Self Storage REIT had a return on equity of 2.64% and a net margin of 10.52%. The firm had revenue of $81.78 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Smartstop Self Storage REIT will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a $0.1315 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This is a negative change from Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s previous monthly dividend of $0.1359. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 281.03%.

Insider Activity at Smartstop Self Storage REIT

In related news, General Counsel Nicholas Look sold 1,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total transaction of $35,219.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,203.68. This trade represents a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,300 shares of company stock worth $77,604. 5.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Smartstop Self Storage REIT

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,596,133 shares of the healthcare company’s stock worth $78,611,000 after buying an additional 528,974 shares in the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,490,000. Conversant Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,972,000. Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in the first quarter worth approximately $10,689,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 98.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 237,187 shares of the healthcare company’s stock worth $7,637,000 after acquiring an additional 117,456 shares during the last quarter.

About Smartstop Self Storage REIT

SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates self-storage properties. Its facilities provide storage space for household and business customers, with services that may include online rentals and the sale of moving and packing supplies. The company’s portfolio serves customers in the United States and Canada. SmartStop also acquires and develops self-storage properties as part of its strategy to expand its operations. SmartStop was founded by H. Michael Schwartz, who has served as the company’s chief executive officer.