Insider Selling: SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) EVP Sells 500 Shares of Stock

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) EVP Rhett Jordan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.85, for a total value of $20,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $510,653.70. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

SmartFinancial Trading Up 0.0%

SmartFinancial stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.99. 96,642 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 74,499. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.32. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.63 and a 12-month high of $43.90. The firm has a market cap of $718.01 million, a PE ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

SmartFinancial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SMBK shares. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Monday. Hovde Group upgraded SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on SmartFinancial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SmartFinancial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.88.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SmartFinancial by 46.0% in 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 holdings in SmartFinancial by 173.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in SmartFinancial by 209.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.