SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.50.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

Shares of SMBK stock opened at $46.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $799.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 0.72. SmartFinancial has a one year low of $32.51 and a one year high of $47.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.52.

SmartFinancial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from SmartFinancial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cathy G. Ackermann acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.12 per share, with a total value of $126,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,281.72. This trade represents a 17.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victor Lynn Barrett acquired 3,000 shares of SmartFinancial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.78 per share, for a total transaction of $131,340.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 151,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,642,476.72. This represents a 2.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders bought 6,290 shares of company stock worth $269,677. Insiders own 6.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 10.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,429 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 147.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 47,443 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 28,280 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 90.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 20,794 shares of the bank’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 9,869 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 1.6% during the first quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 137,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,357,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 0.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

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.