SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $43.82 and last traded at $42.93, with a volume of 11095 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $39.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. 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 raised SmartFinancial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on SmartFinancial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $727.44 million, a P/E ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.55.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 10.74%.

SmartFinancial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SmartFinancial news, Director Steven B. Tucker sold 10,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $403,856.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,231.14. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 18.5% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 103,836 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,508,000 after buying an additional 16,202 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 19,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 7,285 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,996,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 129.2% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 47,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 26,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 1.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 158,723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,360,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.