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

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.75.

SMBK has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on SmartFinancial from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens increased their price target on SmartFinancial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on SmartFinancial from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

Shares of SMBK stock opened at $51.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $888.93 million, a P/E ratio of 24.29 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.44. SmartFinancial has a one year low of $33.01 and a one year high of $54.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is 10.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Victor Lynn Barrett bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.78 per share, with a total value of $131,340.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 151,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,642,476.72. The trade was a 2.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cathy G. Ackermann acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.12 per share, with a total value of $126,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 19,831 shares in the company, valued at $835,281.72. The trade was a 17.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 6.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 173.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 209.1% during 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 during the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.