Empowered Funds LLC Makes New $1.28 Million Investment in Smart Sand $SND

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 255,919 Smart Sand shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $1.28 million and representing a 0.60% stake.
• Other institutional investors also added positions, bringing total institutional ownership to 35.21%; however, Smart Sand insiders sold 91,844 shares worth about $446,544 over the past three months.
• Analysts upgraded Smart Sand to a consensus “Buy.” The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.25 on $115.05 million in revenue and paid a special $0.10-per-share dividend.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 255,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,282,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.60% of Smart Sand as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smart Sand during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smart Sand in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Smart Sand in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Smart Sand by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,900 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Smart Sand during the 2nd quarter worth $70,000. Institutional investors own 35.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smart Sand

In other news, insider James Young sold 11,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.84, for a total transaction of $56,477.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 344,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,669,596.72. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher M. Green sold 13,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $70,202.44. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $173,522.58. This trade represents a 28.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 91,844 shares of company stock worth $446,544 in the last three months. 33.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SND shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Smart Sand from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Smart Sand from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Smart Sand Stock Performance

Shares of SND stock opened at $5.32 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $4.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.84. Smart Sand has a 12-month low of $1.88 and a 12-month high of $5.92. The company has a market capitalization of $225.56 million, a P/E ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter. Smart Sand had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 2.71%.The business had revenue of $115.05 million during the quarter.

Smart Sand Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th.

About Smart Sand

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.

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