SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Shares of SmartFinancial carry a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy from six analysts, with an average 12‑month price target of $40.50 (ratings: four holds, one buy, one strong buy).
• Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn bought 835 shares at $43.13 and now owns 96,468 shares; insiders own 7.62% of the stock while institutional investors hold 58.78%, with recent stake increases by Vanguard, Wellington, and Goldman Sachs.
• The board authorized a $10 million share buyback (up to 1.5% of outstanding shares) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08 (annualized $0.32, ~0.8% yield).

Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SMBK shares. Hovde Group upgraded shares of SmartFinancial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of SmartFinancial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th.

Insider Transactions at SmartFinancial

In related news, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn bought 835 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.13 per share, for a total transaction of $36,013.55. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 96,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,160,664.84. This trade represents a 0.87% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 846,978 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,263,000 after purchasing an additional 26,373 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 838,797 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 728,151 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,934,000 after purchasing an additional 80,639 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 178,374 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,598,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 163,240 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,038,000 after purchasing an additional 58,560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company's stock.

SmartFinancial Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $42.40 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $40.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.18. SmartFinancial has a 52 week low of $28.08 and a 52 week high of $43.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $724.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 0.76.

SmartFinancial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.74%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.