Pinnacle Financial Partners (NYSE:PNFP) vs. SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Financial Contrast

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) and Pinnacle Financial Partners (NYSE:PNFP) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares SmartFinancial and Pinnacle Financial Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SmartFinancial	12.67%	7.33%	0.71%
Pinnacle Financial Partners	19.41%	10.10%	1.19%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for SmartFinancial and Pinnacle Financial Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SmartFinancial	0	4	1	1	2.50
Pinnacle Financial Partners	0	8	10	1	2.63

SmartFinancial currently has a consensus target price of $40.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5.17%. Pinnacle Financial Partners has a consensus target price of $113.41, suggesting a potential upside of 34.21%. Given Pinnacle Financial Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Pinnacle Financial Partners is more favorable than SmartFinancial.

Dividends

SmartFinancial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Pinnacle Financial Partners pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. SmartFinancial pays out 10.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Pinnacle Financial Partners pays out 24.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SmartFinancial has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Pinnacle Financial Partners has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

SmartFinancial has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pinnacle Financial Partners has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SmartFinancial and Pinnacle Financial Partners”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SmartFinancial	$196.50 million	3.35	$36.14 million	$2.98	12.92
Pinnacle Financial Partners	$1.74 billion	3.77	$641.86 million	$8.09	10.45

Pinnacle Financial Partners has higher revenue and earnings than SmartFinancial. Pinnacle Financial Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SmartFinancial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

58.8% of SmartFinancial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.4% of Pinnacle Financial Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of SmartFinancial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Pinnacle Financial Partners shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Pinnacle Financial Partners beats SmartFinancial on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company offers noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, interest-bearing demand, savings, money market, time deposit, individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial and residential real estate, consumer real estate, and construction and land development loans; commercial and financial loans and leases; commercial business and mortgage loans; and direct consumer installment, educational, agriculture, and other revolving credit loans; equipment financing, heavy equipment, semis, and trailers loans and leases to small and mid-size companies; letters of credit; and overdraft facilities. In addition, the company offers wealth management, insurance, mortgage origination, and internet and mobile banking services. SmartFinancial, Inc. is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

About Pinnacle Financial Partners

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Pinnacle Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and professional entities in the United States. It accepts various deposits, including savings, noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and provides treasury management services, such as online wire origination, enhanced ACH origination, positive pay, zero balance and sweep accounts, automated bill pay services, electronic receivables processing, lockbox processing, and merchant card acceptance services, small business and commercial credit cards corporate purchasing cards, and virtual accounting/deposit escrow solutions. The company also offers equipment and working capital loan; commercial real estate loans, such as investment properties and business loan; secured and unsecured loans comprising installment and term, lines of credit, and residential first mortgage, as well as home equity loans and home equity lines of credit; and credit cards for consumers and businesses. In addition, the company provides investment products; brokerage and investment advisory programs; and fiduciary and investment services, including personal trust, investment management, estate administration, endowments, foundations, individual retirement accounts, escrow services, and custody. Further, it offers insurance agency services in the property and casualty area; investment, merger and acquisition advisory services, private debt, equity and mezzanine, and other middle-market advisory services; and other banking services, including telephone and online banking, mobile banking, debit cards, direct deposit and remote deposit capture, mobile deposit option, automated teller machine, and cash management services. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.