SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.50.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SMBK. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $39.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Hovde Group upgraded SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

SMBK opened at $42.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $723.09 million, a P/E ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.55. SmartFinancial has a 52-week low of $26.31 and a 52-week high of $42.96.

SmartFinancial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is 10.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven B. Tucker sold 10,625 shares of SmartFinancial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $403,856.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,897,231.14. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMBK. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in SmartFinancial during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 46.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 173.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,895 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised 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 valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SmartFinancial Company Profile

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.