SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Lifted to Overweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $26.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $25.00.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on SmartFinancial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded SmartFinancial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $25.40.

SmartFinancial Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $20.66 on Wednesday. SmartFinancial has a 12-month low of $18.86 and a 12-month high of $25.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.46 million, a P/E ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.92.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.51%.

Insider Transactions at SmartFinancial

In other news, EVP Gary Wayne Petty, Jr. sold 2,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.63, for a total value of $51,782.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,938.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMBK. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter worth $1,872,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the third quarter worth $758,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,382 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 34,488 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 106,463 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 32,968 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the third quarter worth $292,000. Institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

About SmartFinancial

SmartFinancial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for SmartBank that provides various financial services to individuals and corporate customers in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. It operates through Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other segments.