Acadian Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its ownership of SmartFinancial, Inc. shares by 6.2%, now holding approximately 0.92% of the company's stock valued at $4.87 million.
• SmartFinancial recently announced a $0.08 quarterly dividend per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 12.96%.
• Analysts have a consensus price target of $38.25 for SmartFinancial, with a mix of ratings including two "Strong Buy" and three "Hold" recommendations.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,591 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 9,122 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.92% of SmartFinancial worth $4,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of SmartFinancial in the first quarter worth about $61,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in SmartFinancial by 19,400.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,145 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,134 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in SmartFinancial by 282.9% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the bank's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,839 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the 1st quarter valued at $129,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.78% of the company's stock.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

NASDAQ:SMBK traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $36.85. 25,676 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,952. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $627.19 million, a PE ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 0.81. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.31 and a twelve month high of $37.72. The stock's 50-day moving average is $35.64 and its 200-day moving average is $32.79.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.03. SmartFinancial had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 7.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMBK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded SmartFinancial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.25.

SmartFinancial Profile

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.