Strs Ohio Invests $535,000 in SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. ($SMBK), purchasing 17,200 shares valued at approximately $535,000, which represents about 0.10% ownership of the company.
• Several large investors have increased their holdings in SmartFinancial, with institutional investors now owning 58.78% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have generally favorable ratings for SmartFinancial, with a Moderate Buy average rating and an average price target of $38.25.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,200 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $535,000. Strs Ohio owned 0.10% of SmartFinancial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SMBK. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in SmartFinancial by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 437,793 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 97,375 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial during the 1st quarter worth about $2,196,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in SmartFinancial by 281.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 60,255 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 44,467 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 150.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 31,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 263.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 42,385 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 30,715 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company's stock.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

SmartFinancial stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $36.95. 47,689 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,595. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $35.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.92. The company has a market capitalization of $628.89 million, a P/E ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 0.81. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.31 and a 12-month high of $37.92.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 12.67%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SMBK shares. Hovde Group upped their price objective on SmartFinancial from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on SmartFinancial from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised SmartFinancial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.25.

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.