SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.8750.

SMBK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Monday, April 20th. Benchmark initiated coverage on SmartFinancial in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on SmartFinancial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Insider Activity at SmartFinancial

In other news, Director Cathy G. Ackermann purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.12 per share, with a total value of $126,360.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,281.72. The trade was a 17.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Victor Lynn Barrett bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $43.78 per share, for a total transaction of $131,340.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 151,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,642,476.72. This trade represents a 2.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 6,290 shares of company stock valued at $269,677. Insiders own 6.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in SmartFinancial by 801.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after buying an additional 30,769 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in SmartFinancial by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 132,067 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,885,000 after buying an additional 16,367 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at about $1,143,000. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its position in SmartFinancial by 83.4% in the third quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 84,570 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,022,000 after buying an additional 38,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the third quarter worth approximately $724,000. Institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

SMBK traded up $0.49 on Wednesday, hitting $46.23. 138,655 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 76,402. SmartFinancial has a 52 week low of $32.45 and a 52 week high of $46.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $790.44 million, a PE ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.39.

SmartFinancial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This is a positive change from SmartFinancial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 11.54%.

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.