SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Hovde Group upgraded SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

SmartFinancial Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of SMBK opened at $38.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. SmartFinancial has a fifty-two week low of $26.31 and a fifty-two week high of $43.90. The company has a market capitalization of $652.34 million, a PE ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.56.

SmartFinancial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at SmartFinancial

In other news, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn bought 835 shares of SmartFinancial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.13 per share, with a total value of $36,013.55. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 96,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,160,664.84. This represents a 0.87% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven B. Tucker sold 10,625 shares of SmartFinancial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $403,856.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,231.14. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SmartFinancial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 173.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,895 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.