SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SMBK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Hovde Group upgraded SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $39.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $42.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $723.09 million, a PE ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 0.75. SmartFinancial has a fifty-two week low of $26.31 and a fifty-two week high of $42.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

SmartFinancial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SmartFinancial news, Director Steven B. Tucker sold 10,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $403,856.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,231.14. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SmartFinancial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in SmartFinancial by 46.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 173.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,895 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in SmartFinancial by 209.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.