SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities 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 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.75.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SMBK. Stephens raised their price objective on SmartFinancial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark boosted their target price on SmartFinancial from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

SMBK stock opened at $52.63 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.16. SmartFinancial has a 12-month low of $33.01 and a 12-month high of $54.14. 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 company has a market cap of $899.87 million, a PE ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 0.69.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cathy G. Ackermann acquired 3,000 shares of SmartFinancial stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.12 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 17.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victor Lynn Barrett bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.78 per share, with a total value of $131,340.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 151,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 6.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMBK. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 46.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 209.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 13.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,708 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

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.