Frank Martell Purchases 150,000 Shares of SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT) Stock

Key Points

• SmartRent, Inc. CEO Frank Martell acquired 150,000 shares at $1.25 each, totaling $187,500, increasing his ownership by 60.43%.
• The company reported a net loss per share of ($0.06), missing the consensus estimate, with quarterly revenue of $38.31 million versus expectations of $38.85 million.
• SmartRent's board has approved a $50 million stock repurchase program, indicating that the board believes the stock may be undervalued.

SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT - Get Free Report) CEO Frank Martell acquired 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $187,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 398,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $497,755. The trade was a 60.43% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Frank Martell also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 15th, Frank Martell acquired 120,000 shares of SmartRent stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.35 per share, with a total value of $162,000.00.
• On Tuesday, August 12th, Frank Martell acquired 130,000 shares of SmartRent stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.37 per share, with a total value of $178,100.00.
• On Monday, August 11th, Frank Martell acquired 100,000 shares of SmartRent stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.26 per share, with a total value of $126,000.00.

SmartRent Trading Down 1.1%

SMRT traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.33. The stock had a trading volume of 624,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,939. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $249.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.82. SmartRent, Inc. has a one year low of $0.67 and a one year high of $1.99.

SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $38.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.85 million. SmartRent had a negative return on equity of 14.94% and a negative net margin of 46.54%. On average, equities research analysts predict that SmartRent, Inc. will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

SmartRent declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 27.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartRent

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMRT. Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC boosted its position in SmartRent by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC now owns 3,990,266 shares of the company's stock worth $6,983,000 after purchasing an additional 167,828 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in SmartRent by 230.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,657,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853,247 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in SmartRent by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,627,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,599,000 after purchasing an additional 163,648 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in SmartRent by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,678,310 shares of the company's stock worth $2,937,000 after acquiring an additional 55,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in SmartRent by 430.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,596,146 shares of the company's stock worth $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295,098 shares during the last quarter. 59.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SMRT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on SmartRent from $1.30 to $1.45 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded SmartRent to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded SmartRent to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th.

About SmartRent

SmartRent, Inc, an enterprise software company, provides an integrated smart home operating system to residential property owners and operators, homebuilders, institutional home buyers, developers, and residents in the United States. The company's products and solutions include smart apartments and homes, access control for buildings, common areas, and rental units, asset protection and monitoring, parking management, self-guided tours, and community and resident Wi-Fi.