SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• SmartRent has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the company's stock.
• The company's earnings report showed a loss of ($0.06) per share, which was below analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $38.31 million, also falling short of estimates.
• CEO Frank Martell increased his stake in SmartRent by purchasing 120,000 shares, highlighting insider confidence following the company's recent share repurchase program approval of $50 million.

SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on SMRT. Zacks Research upgraded SmartRent to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded SmartRent to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on SmartRent from $1.30 to $1.45 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, SmartRent has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1.45.

SmartRent Stock Down 3.1%

NYSE:SMRT traded down $0.0450 on Friday, reaching $1.4050. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,029,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,810. SmartRent has a 12-month low of $0.6710 and a 12-month high of $1.99. The firm has a market cap of $264.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.70 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.07.

SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). SmartRent had a negative net margin of 46.54% and a negative return on equity of 14.94%. The business had revenue of $38.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.85 million. Equities research analysts expect that SmartRent will post -0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SmartRent declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SmartRent

In related news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.50 per share, with a total value of $150,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 300,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $450,000. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Frank Martell bought 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.25 per share, with a total value of $187,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 398,204 shares in the company, valued at $497,755. This represents a 60.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 625,000 shares of company stock valued at $840,850 over the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SmartRent during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SmartRent by 128.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 30,788 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 17,312 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of SmartRent by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,597 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 17,444 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of SmartRent during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SmartRent during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. 59.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SmartRent Company Profile

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.