Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• SMA opened sharply lower after Freedom Broker downgraded it from Buy to Hold; shares opened at $37.40 versus a prior close of $39.69. The broker raised its price target to $40 from $38.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat reports a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $37.25, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell.
• The company missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $0.16 versus expectations of $0.50, and cut its monthly dividend from $0.1359 to $0.1315 per share.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Inc (NYSE:SMA - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Freedom Broker downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $39.69, but opened at $37.40. Freedom Broker now has a $40.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $38.00. Smartstop Self Storage REIT shares last traded at $37.68, with a volume of 1,474,263 shares trading hands.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SMA. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Smartstop Self Storage REIT in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smartstop Self Storage REIT has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Insider Transactions at Smartstop Self Storage REIT

In related news, General Counsel Nicholas Look sold 1,025 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total transaction of $35,219.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,203.68. This represents a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,300 shares of company stock worth $77,604 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMA. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 61.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,788 shares of the healthcare company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 68.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the healthcare company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 9.2% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,783 shares of the healthcare company's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Smartstop Self Storage REIT in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in Smartstop Self Storage REIT by 16.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,106 shares of the healthcare company's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Stock Down 5.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 64.88 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.77. The company has a quick ratio of 5.28, a current ratio of 5.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The healthcare company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $81.78 million for the quarter. Smartstop Self Storage REIT had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 2.63%. Analysts forecast that Smartstop Self Storage REIT Inc will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Smartstop Self Storage REIT Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1315 per share. This is a drop from Smartstop Self Storage REIT's previous monthly dividend of $0.1359. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. Smartstop Self Storage REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 281.03%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.