Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 114,992 Smartstop Self Storage REIT Inc $SMA

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake of 114,992 shares in Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) in Q4, valued at about $3.56 million and representing roughly 0.21% ownership.
• Smartstop missed quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.05 versus a consensus $0.54, though revenue rose to $78.45 million (+29.5% YoY); the company set FY2026 guidance of 1.93–2.05 EPS.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.1315 payable May 15 (record Apr 30), implying a ~4.8% yield

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT Inc (NYSE:SMA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 114,992 shares of the healthcare company's stock, valued at approximately $3,558,000. Merit Financial Group LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Smartstop Self Storage REIT at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 2.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,609,601 shares of the healthcare company's stock valued at $60,585,000 after acquiring an additional 43,733 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 24.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,196,065 shares of the healthcare company's stock valued at $45,020,000 after acquiring an additional 233,313 shares in the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 24.5% in the third quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 1,181,767 shares of the healthcare company's stock valued at $44,393,000 after acquiring an additional 232,466 shares in the last quarter. Conversant Capital LLC acquired a new position in Smartstop Self Storage REIT in the second quarter valued at $36,098,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 966,936 shares of the healthcare company's stock valued at $29,917,000 after acquiring an additional 149,391 shares in the last quarter.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMA opened at $33.21 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 5.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion and a P/E ratio of -89.75. Smartstop Self Storage REIT Inc has a 52 week low of $29.42 and a 52 week high of $39.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.85.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The healthcare company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $78.45 million during the quarter. Smartstop Self Storage REIT had a negative net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 0.16%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT's quarterly revenue was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. Smartstop Self Storage REIT has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.930-2.050 EPS.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $0.1315 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -440.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SMA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.25.

About Smartstop Self Storage REIT

Symmetry Medical Inc (Symmetry) is a medical device solutions company, including surgical instruments, orthopedic implants, and sterilization cases and trays. The Company designs, develops and offers worldwide production and supply chain capabilities for these products to customers in the orthopedic industry, and other medical device markets (including but not limited to arthroscopy, dental, laparoscopy, osteobiologic, and endoscopy segments). It also manufactures specialized non-healthcare products, primarily in the aerospace industry.

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