58,316 Shares in SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK Acquired by Algebris UK Ltd.

Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 58,316 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 150.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 31,255 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,481 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 263.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 42,385 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 30,715 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 11.1% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 46,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 4,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 46.0% in the second 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. Institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $41.56 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.16. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $43.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $710.54 million, a P/E ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

SmartFinancial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

SmartFinancial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from SmartFinancial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is 11.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMBK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on SmartFinancial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Hovde Group upgraded shares of SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SmartFinancial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.88.

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.