Empowered Funds LLC Invests $1.28 Million in Smart Sand $SND

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 255,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,282,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its position in shares of Smart Sand by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 3,126,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,508,000 after acquiring an additional 430,507 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Smart Sand in the second quarter valued at $10,083,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Smart Sand by 59.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 798,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,090,000 after acquiring an additional 298,017 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Smart Sand by 25.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,090,000 after acquiring an additional 162,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Smart Sand by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 610,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 20,213 shares during the period. 35.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Smart Sand news, VP Christopher M. Green sold 13,874 shares of Smart Sand stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $70,202.44. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 34,293 shares in the company, valued at $173,522.58. This trade represents a 28.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Lee E. Beckelman sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total transaction of $239,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 721,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,637.55. This represents a 6.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $446,544 in the last 90 days. 33.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Smart Sand Stock Performance

Shares of SND opened at $5.32 on Friday. Smart Sand has a 12-month low of $1.88 and a 12-month high of $5.92. The stock has a market cap of $225.56 million, a P/E ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.84.

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Smart Sand had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company had revenue of $115.05 million for the quarter.

Smart Sand Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SND. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Smart Sand from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Smart Sand from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

About Smart Sand

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.