SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• SmartFinancial has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold," reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts at Hovde Group and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target prices for the stock, while Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating with a new target of $44.00.
• As of the latest report, SmartFinancial is trading at $34.65, with a market cap of $589.74 million and an average target price of $38.25 from analysts.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, SmartFinancial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.25.

SmartFinancial Stock Down 1.0%

SMBK opened at $34.65 on Wednesday. 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 $589.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 0.80. SmartFinancial has a twelve month low of $26.31 and a twelve month high of $37.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.29.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.03. SmartFinancial had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 7.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that SmartFinancial will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,442 shares of the bank's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,481 shares of the bank's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,432 shares of the bank's stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 46.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.78% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.