SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT) Short Interest Down 40.1% in May

SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,899,404 shares, a decline of 40.1% from the April 30th total of 3,172,780 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,561,522 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of SmartRent from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of SmartRent from $2.00 to $1.40 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1.40.

SmartRent Stock Performance

NYSE SMRT traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1.19. The stock had a trading volume of 238,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,092,756. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.35 and a 200 day moving average of $1.62. The stock has a market cap of $228.52 million, a P/E ratio of -9.12 and a beta of 1.53. SmartRent has a 52-week low of $0.85 and a 52-week high of $2.20.

SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.02). SmartRent had a negative return on equity of 10.61% and a negative net margin of 16.58%.The business had revenue of $36.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.82 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SmartRent will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian acquired 150,000 shares of SmartRent stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.74 per share, with a total value of $261,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at $870,000. This trade represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Frank Martell acquired 100,000 shares of SmartRent stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.18 per share, for a total transaction of $118,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,165,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,735,013.88. This trade represents a 3.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 310,000 shares of company stock worth $447,500. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of SmartRent by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 15,671,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,097,000 after buying an additional 3,915,817 shares in the last quarter. Northern Right Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in SmartRent in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,739,000. Mak Capital One LLC acquired a new position in SmartRent in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,038,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in SmartRent by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,434,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in SmartRent in the 3rd quarter valued at $285,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.42% of the company’s stock.

SmartRent Company Profile

SmartRent Inc is a technology company that develops smart home and smart building automation solutions for the residential rental housing industry. Its integrated hardware and software platform enables property managers and owners to remotely monitor, manage and control access, energy use and overall resident experience. The company’s product portfolio includes smart locks, thermostats, leak and flood sensors, door and window sensors, security cameras, and a centralized management dashboard that interfaces with leading property management systems.

SmartRent’s platform is designed to streamline operations for multifamily communities and single-family rental portfolios by automating routine tasks such as digital resident self-showings, remote lease turnovers, package management and preventative maintenance alerts.