SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 71,388 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 19% from the previous session’s volume of 59,772 shares.The stock last traded at $36.5650 and had previously closed at $37.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $39.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.10.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.73 and a 200-day moving average of $35.74. The company has a market capitalization of $623.74 million, a P/E ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.75.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 11.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven B. Tucker sold 10,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $403,856.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,231.14. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in SmartFinancial by 173.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,895 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial in the first quarter worth $61,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 24.3% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

About SmartFinancial

SmartFinancial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, operating through its primary subsidiary, SmartBank. Incorporated in 2006, the company provides a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses and public entities across its regional footprint. SmartFinancial’s network of branch offices and digital platforms combines community-banking relationships with modern technology to serve its customers’ evolving needs.

Through SmartBank, the company offers a broad range of deposit products, including checking, savings and certificate of deposit accounts, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.