SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn Buys 835 Shares

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn bought 835 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $43.13 per share, for a total transaction of $36,013.55. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 96,468 shares in the company, valued at $4,160,664.84. This trade represents a 0.87% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

SmartFinancial Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of SMBK stock opened at $41.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $714.73 million, a PE ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 0.77. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.31 and a 52-week high of $43.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.02 and its 200 day moving average is $36.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is presently 10.74%.

SmartFinancial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMBK. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 173.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,895 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 24.3% during 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, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in SmartFinancial by 209.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on SMBK shares. Zacks Research raised shares of SmartFinancial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $39.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Hovde Group raised SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

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.