SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK – Get Rating) posted its earnings results on Monday. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02), Fidelity Earnings reports. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 23.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS.

Shares of NASDAQ:SMBK traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.79. The company had a trading volume of 375 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,514. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.71. SmartFinancial has a one year low of $22.97 and a one year high of $28.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.63.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is an increase from SmartFinancial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 10th. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 51,823 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 11,146 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,602 shares of the bank’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,785 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 5,198 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 490.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,764 shares of the bank’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 10,601 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the 4th quarter worth $333,000. Institutional investors own 48.35% of the company’s stock.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SMBK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of SmartFinancial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 26th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SmartFinancial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

SmartFinancial Company Profile (Get Rating)

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

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