D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys New Shares in SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 248,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $434,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.13% of SmartRent at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SMRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of SmartRent by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 391,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 103,325 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of SmartRent during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Crossingbridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SmartRent during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $569,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of SmartRent during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of SmartRent by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,283,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 501,890 shares during the period. 59.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at SmartRent

In related news, CEO Michael Shane Paladin purchased 43,859 shares of SmartRent stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.14 per share, with a total value of $49,999.26. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,999.26. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John C. Dorman purchased 125,000 shares of SmartRent stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.20 per share, with a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 229,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $275,958. This trade represents a 119.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMRT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of SmartRent from $1.60 to $1.30 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of SmartRent to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SmartRent currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.33.

SmartRent Stock Performance

SmartRent stock opened at $0.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $148.77 million, a PE ratio of -6.08 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $0.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.33. SmartRent, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.67 and a twelve month high of $2.61.

SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.03). SmartRent had a negative return on equity of 6.08% and a negative net margin of 12.77%. The business had revenue of $41.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.10 million. Equities analysts anticipate that SmartRent, Inc. will post -0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SmartRent declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 27.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

SmartRent 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.