Private Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK)

Private Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 522,676 shares of the bank's stock after selling 35,069 shares during the period. SmartFinancial comprises about 1.7% of Private Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Private Capital Management LLC owned 3.09% of SmartFinancial worth $16,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in SmartFinancial by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,091 shares of the bank's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 30,026 shares of the bank's stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,448 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 269.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,538 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 208,193 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SmartFinancial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.70.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SMBK traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.55. 8,767 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,919. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $30.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.68. The company has a market cap of $554.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.71. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.40 and a 52-week high of $37.72. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio is 14.16%.

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.