Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,124 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $708,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of SmartFinancial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SMBK. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 150.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 31,255 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,481 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 263.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 42,385 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 30,715 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 11.1% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 46,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 4,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SmartFinancial news, Director Cathy G. Ackermann bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.12 per share, for a total transaction of $126,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 19,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,281.72. This trade represents a 17.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor Lynn Barrett bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.78 per share, for a total transaction of $131,340.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 151,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,642,476.72. This trade represents a 2.02% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 6,290 shares of company stock valued at $269,677. 6.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

Shares of SMBK stock opened at $52.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $898.71 million, a P/E ratio of 24.56 and a beta of 0.70. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.63 and a 1-year high of $53.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 10.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on SmartFinancial from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stephens increased 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. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

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.