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

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SMBK. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

SmartFinancial Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ SMBK opened at $26.99 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. SmartFinancial has a 52-week low of $19.00 and a 52-week high of $28.83. The company has a market capitalization of $460.53 million, a P/E ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 0.71.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. SmartFinancial had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $68.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that SmartFinancial will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.51%.

Insider Transactions at SmartFinancial

In related news, Director John M. Presley sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.65, for a total value of $169,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,403.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in SmartFinancial by 1.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,147 shares of the bank’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 1.5% during the first quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 33,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 16,525 shares of the bank’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

About SmartFinancial

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.