SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.4167.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on shares of SmartFinancial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMBK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 846,978 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,263,000 after purchasing an additional 26,373 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 838,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,027,000 after buying an additional 2,268 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 728,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,934,000 after buying an additional 80,639 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 178,374 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,598,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 163,240 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,038,000 after buying an additional 58,560 shares during the period. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

SMBK opened at $52.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $890.98 million, a PE ratio of 24.35 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.70. SmartFinancial has a 52-week low of $33.01 and a 52-week high of $54.14.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.62%.

About SmartFinancial

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.