SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• SmartFinancial has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from seven analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $50.42. Ratings include four holds, two buys, and one strong buy.
• Recent analysts raised their price targets, with targets ranging from $47 to $60; Benchmark and Raymond James issued bullish ratings, while Stephens and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintained market-neutral views.
• SMBK traded at $51.94, near its 52-week high of $54.14, and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annualized yield.

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.4167.

SMBK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens upped their target price on SmartFinancial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Victor Barrett bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.78 per share, with a total value of $131,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 151,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,642,476.72. This represents a 2.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 1,111.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,041 shares of the bank's stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 9,212 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in SmartFinancial in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the 2nd quarter worth $3,746,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,429 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 2,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 147.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 47,443 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 28,280 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company's stock.

SmartFinancial Stock Up 0.1%

SMBK stock opened at $51.94 on Monday. SmartFinancial has a 52 week low of $33.01 and a 52 week high of $54.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.08 and a 200 day moving average of $44.37. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $888.07 million, a PE ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 0.68.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.62%.

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.

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