SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Chairman Buys $36,013.55 in Stock

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn bought 835 shares of SmartFinancial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.13 per share, with a total value of $36,013.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 96,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,160,664.84. The trade was a 0.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

SmartFinancial Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ SMBK traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.97. 73,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 79,543. 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 $714.73 million, a P/E ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 0.77. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.31 and a twelve month high of $43.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.80.

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

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SMBK. Zacks Research raised SmartFinancial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on SmartFinancial from $37.00 to $39.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Hovde Group raised shares of SmartFinancial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on SmartFinancial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SmartFinancial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 163,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,038,000 after buying an additional 58,560 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,158,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter worth $437,000. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 21,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $784,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 375.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 152,167 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,629,000 after acquiring an additional 120,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.