SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Chairman Purchases $36,013.55 in Stock

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn purchased 835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $43.13 per share, with a total value of $36,013.55. Following the purchase, the chairman directly owned 96,468 shares in the company, valued at $4,160,664.84. This trade represents a 0.87% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

NASDAQ SMBK traded down $0.68 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 73,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 79,543. The stock has a market capitalization of $714.73 million, a PE ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 0.77. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.02 and a 200 day moving average of $36.80. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a one year low of $26.31 and a one year high of $43.90.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.74%.

SmartFinancial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on SMBK shares. Zacks Research upgraded SmartFinancial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group upgraded SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $39.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in SmartFinancial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 46.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in SmartFinancial by 24.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in SmartFinancial by 209.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Company Profile

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.