Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. by 2.8%, now owning about 4.67% of the company, valued at approximately $24.7 million.
• Other institutional investors, such as Tower Research Capital and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their positions in SmartFinancial, indicating growing confidence in the company.
• SmartFinancial recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.69, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 12.96%.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 794,867 shares of the bank's stock after selling 23,205 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 4.67% of SmartFinancial worth $24,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SMBK. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 28.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 44,467 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 758,069 shares of the bank's stock worth $23,485,000 after purchasing an additional 32,418 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $580,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 30,938 shares of the bank's stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 14,810 shares during the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SmartFinancial Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:SMBK traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $36.81. 36,014 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,585. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.31 and a 1 year high of $37.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $35.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $626.51 million, a P/E ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. SmartFinancial's payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SMBK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.