Smart (NYSE:SFS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Smart (NYSE:SFS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SFS shares. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Smart from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Smart in a research report on Monday, June 19th. Deutsche Bank AG reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective (down previously from $14.00) on shares of Smart in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Smart in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Smart from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th.

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In other Smart news, SVP Michael A. Mortensen sold 26,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.26, for a total transaction of $222,854.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $398,057.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott R. Drew sold 21,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.02, for a total transaction of $273,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $841,716.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 101,940 shares of company stock worth $1,097,389. 8.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Smart by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 582,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,214,000 after buying an additional 57,747 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Smart by 33.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 132,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after buying an additional 33,113 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Smart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $533,000. United Services Automobile Association increased its stake in Smart by 22.3% in the first quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 723,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,751,000 after buying an additional 131,800 shares during the period. Finally, Suntrust Banks Inc. increased its stake in Smart by 41.7% in the first quarter. Suntrust Banks Inc. now owns 24,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 7,344 shares during the period.

Smart (SFS) traded up 0.57% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.75. 670,293 shares of the stock were exchanged. The company has a market cap of $647.68 million, a PE ratio of 72.92 and a beta of 0.30. Smart has a 12 month low of $7.45 and a 12 month high of $15.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.11.

Smart (NYSE:SFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.04. Smart had a return on equity of 4.14% and a net margin of 0.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Smart will post $0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Smart

Smart & Final Stores, Inc is a food retailer. The Company is engaged in the business of selling fresh perishables and everyday grocery items, together with foodservice, packaging and janitorial products. The Company operates through two segments: Smart & Final, and Cash and Carry. The Smart & Final segment focuses on both household and business customers.