SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $37.03 and last traded at $36.76, with a volume of 13405 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMBK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler downgraded SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Hovde Group increased their price target on SmartFinancial from $28.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on SmartFinancial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

SmartFinancial Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $611.83 million, a PE ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.22 and its 200-day moving average is $26.38.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 11.88%. The firm had revenue of $73.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is 16.49%.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 41.7% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 150,870 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,179,000 after purchasing an additional 44,407 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in SmartFinancial by 429.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,688 shares of the bank’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 19,210 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in SmartFinancial by 23.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 130,361 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 24,979 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 789,233 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,629,000 after acquiring an additional 19,490 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 320.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 54,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 41,602 shares during the period. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SmartFinancial Company Profile

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.