Brokerages Set SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Target Price at $40.50

Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.50.

SMBK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Hovde Group raised shares of SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity at SmartFinancial

In related news, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn purchased 835 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $43.13 per share, with a total value of $36,013.55. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 96,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,160,664.84. This represents a 0.87% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in SmartFinancial by 150.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 31,255 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,481 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 263.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 42,385 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 30,715 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,783 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 11,841 shares during the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

SmartFinancial stock opened at $39.39 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.91 and a 200-day moving average of $37.76. The company has a market capitalization of $673.50 million, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.77. SmartFinancial has a 1 year low of $26.31 and a 1 year high of $43.90. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is presently 10.74%.

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.