Insider Selling: SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) EVP Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• EVP Rhett Jordan sold 500 shares on April 24 at an average price of $41.85 for $20,925, reducing his stake by 3.94% to 12,202 shares valued at about $510,654.
• Board authorized a $10 million stock buyback (up to roughly 1.5% of shares) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08 ($0.32 annualized, ~0.8% yield, payout ratio ~10%).
• Analyst and market context: SMBK has a market cap of about $718M, a P/E near 19.6, a consensus price target of $45.88 ("Moderate Buy"), and roughly 58.8% of stock is held by institutional investors.

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) EVP Rhett Jordan sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.85, for a total value of $20,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $510,653.70. The trade was a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

SmartFinancial Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:SMBK traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.99. The company had a trading volume of 96,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,499. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $40.00 and a 200 day moving average of $38.32. The company has a market cap of $718.01 million, a P/E ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 0.76. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.63 and a 1 year high of $43.90.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.26%.

SmartFinancial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SMBK shares. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Monday. Zacks Research cut SmartFinancial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Hovde Group upgraded SmartFinancial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SmartFinancial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,061 shares of the bank's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. 1492 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the 1st quarter worth $270,000. AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the 1st quarter worth $457,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 176.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,325 shares of the bank's stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 14,240 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 107.9% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the bank's stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 13,834 shares during the period. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SmartFinancial Company Profile

SmartFinancial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, operating through its primary subsidiary, SmartBank. Incorporated in 2006, the company provides a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses and public entities across its regional footprint. SmartFinancial's network of branch offices and digital platforms combines community-banking relationships with modern technology to serve its customers' evolving needs.

Through SmartBank, the company offers a broad range of deposit products, including checking, savings and certificate of deposit accounts, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.

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