Bailard Inc. Grows Position in SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK

Bailard Inc. boosted its position in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,700 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 7,285 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. owned 0.12% of SmartFinancial worth $665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in SmartFinancial by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 158,723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,360,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in SmartFinancial in the second quarter valued at $5,996,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 18.5% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 103,836 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after buying an additional 16,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 129.2% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 47,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,609,000 after buying an additional 26,855 shares during the period. 58.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SmartFinancial Stock Up 0.4%

SmartFinancial stock opened at $35.94 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.38. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.31 and a 1-year high of $37.92. The company has a market cap of $611.75 million, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.83. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is presently 11.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SMBK shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $39.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SmartFinancial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SmartFinancial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.10.

SmartFinancial Company Profile

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.