Stonegate Investment Group LLC Takes $351,000 Position in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 11,342 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new position in SmartFinancial in the third quarter worth about $4,491,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 340,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,920,000 after acquiring an additional 139,009 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 5,760.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 66,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 65,847 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 184,555 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,378,000 after purchasing an additional 35,565 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 5.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 699,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,563,000 after purchasing an additional 35,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ SMBK opened at $35.68 on Wednesday. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.00 and a 52 week high of $37.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $603.98 million, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.98.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insider Activity at SmartFinancial

In related news, Director John M. Presley sold 6,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $242,405.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,798. This trade represents a 63.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,516 shares of company stock valued at $262,600. 7.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $28.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.70.

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.