SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.60.

Several research analysts have recently commented on SMBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on SmartFinancial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised shares of SmartFinancial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group decreased their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

Shares of SmartFinancial stock opened at $25.08 on Monday. SmartFinancial has a 12 month low of $19.00 and a 12 month high of $26.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.15. The firm has a market cap of $427.86 million, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.08. SmartFinancial had a net margin of 10.65% and a return on equity of 6.88%. The firm had revenue of $40.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.98 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that SmartFinancial will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John M. Presley sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.65, for a total value of $169,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,403.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,916 shares of the bank’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 16,525 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 106,463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 32,968 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 33,427 shares of the bank’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 11,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,382 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 34,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.