Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 18,124 SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK

Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 18,124 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 375.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 152,167 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,629,000 after acquiring an additional 120,167 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in SmartFinancial by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 728,151 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,934,000 after acquiring an additional 80,639 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 163,240 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,038,000 after purchasing an additional 58,560 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the fourth quarter worth about $2,158,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 134,871 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,989,000 after acquiring an additional 50,301 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Victor Lynn Barrett purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.78 per share, with a total value of $131,340.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 151,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,642,476.72. The trade was a 2.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cathy G. Ackermann bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.12 per share, for a total transaction of $126,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,831 shares in the company, valued at $835,281.72. This represents a 17.82% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 6,290 shares of company stock worth $269,677 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SMBK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SmartFinancial from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens raised their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.75.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $52.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.07 and its 200-day moving average is $42.40. The company has a market cap of $898.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56 and a beta of 0.70. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.63 and a 52-week high of $53.93.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 10.62%.

SmartFinancial 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.