Panagora Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. by 51.8%, now holding approximately 0.30% of the company valued at around $1.58 million.
• SmartFinancial's stock price opened at $36.81 with a recent market cap of $626.51 million, and it has reported a 12.67% net margin in its latest earnings.
• Analysts have set new price targets for SmartFinancial, with Raymond James increasing its target to $44.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Free Report) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,942 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 17,379 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.30% of SmartFinancial worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SMBK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 437,793 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 97,375 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the first quarter worth approximately $2,196,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 281.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 60,255 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 44,467 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in SmartFinancial by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 758,069 shares of the bank's stock worth $23,485,000 after acquiring an additional 32,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 87,634 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 27,586 shares in the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

Shares of SMBK stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.03. The stock had a trading volume of 44,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,466. The stock's 50 day moving average is $35.42 and its 200 day moving average is $32.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $630.17 million, a PE ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 0.81. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.31 and a twelve month high of $37.72.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 12.67%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on SMBK. Hovde Group lifted their price target on SmartFinancial from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on SmartFinancial from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.25.

SmartFinancial Company 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.