SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $32.64 and last traded at $32.64, with a volume of 9072 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.69.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is 20.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler cut shares of SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $28.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.76. The company has a market capitalization of $566.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27 and a beta of 0.69.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 6.55% and a net margin of 9.93%. The business had revenue of $73.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.32 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 429.0% during 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 during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,437 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 4,375 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 130,361 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 24,979 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 150,870 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,179,000 after purchasing an additional 44,407 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 789,233 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,629,000 after purchasing an additional 19,490 shares during the period. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.