SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK Shares Acquired by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMBK) by 45.9%, now owning 87,634 shares valued at approximately $2.72 million.
• The company reported earnings of $0.69 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.03, showcasing a 12.67% net margin.
• SmartFinancial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, with a 0.9% yield, set to be paid on August 25th.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Free Report) by 45.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,634 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 27,586 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.51% of SmartFinancial worth $2,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SMBK. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 437,793 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,563,000 after acquiring an additional 97,375 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 281.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 60,255 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 44,467 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 130.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 75,527 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 42,771 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 758,069 shares of the bank's stock valued at $23,485,000 after purchasing an additional 32,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial during the 4th quarter valued at $580,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SMBK shares. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.25.

SmartFinancial Stock Up 0.2%

SMBK stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.99. 1,094 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,997. The company has a market capitalization of $595.53 million, a PE ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.31 and a twelve month high of $37.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.62.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.96%.

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.