Crescent Grove Advisors LLC Has $1.04 Million Holdings in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK)

Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,573 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.25% of SmartFinancial worth $1,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in SmartFinancial by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,330,956 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,798,000 after purchasing an additional 73,860 shares during the period. Private Capital Management LLC grew its position in SmartFinancial by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 613,755 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,202,000 after purchasing an additional 68,229 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in SmartFinancial by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 211,631 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,552,000 after purchasing an additional 60,415 shares during the period. EAM Investors LLC purchased a new position in SmartFinancial during the 4th quarter worth $1,252,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 56.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 107,483 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,597,000 after acquiring an additional 38,993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SMBK traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.17. 1,436 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,228. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.86 and a 12-month high of $25.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $327.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.00.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $65.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.14 million. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 11.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 18.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMBK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised SmartFinancial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on SmartFinancial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at SmartFinancial

In other SmartFinancial news, EVP Gary Wayne Petty, Jr. sold 2,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.63, for a total value of $51,782.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,091 shares in the company, valued at $412,938.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

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.