Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 179,929 shares, a decrease of 24.0% from the December 15th total of 236,722 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 331,705 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 331,705 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SND. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smart Sand in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Smart Sand from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Smart Sand Stock Performance

Shares of Smart Sand stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3.90. 202,483 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,379. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.33 and a beta of 0.38. Smart Sand has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $4.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.54.

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.11. Smart Sand had a net margin of 1.16% and a negative return on equity of 7.55%. The company had revenue of $0.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.00 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Smart Sand will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smart Sand Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Smart Sand

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gendell Jeffrey L grew its position in shares of Smart Sand by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 2,039,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,100,000 after buying an additional 312,789 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in Smart Sand during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smart Sand in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Smart Sand by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 276,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 19,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Smart Sand in the fourth quarter worth approximately $309,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.21% of the company’s stock.

Smart Sand Company Profile

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.