Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 14,240 Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) by 176.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,325 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,240 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.13% of SmartFinancial worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 107.9% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 13,834 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,967 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,217,000 after buying an additional 8,354 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 78,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,907,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in SmartFinancial by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 728,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,934,000 after buying an additional 80,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in SmartFinancial by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 46,075 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after buying an additional 25,808 shares in the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMBK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SmartFinancial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

Shares of SMBK opened at $46.61 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $797.01 million, a PE ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 0.70. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.63 and a 12-month high of $49.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.28.

SmartFinancial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at SmartFinancial

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

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.