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

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the three brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.25.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded SmartFinancial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Piper Sandler upgraded SmartFinancial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on SmartFinancial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th.

Insider Activity at SmartFinancial

In related 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 directly owns 19,091 shares in the company, valued at $412,938.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 68.0% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the third quarter worth $159,000. 1492 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial in the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in SmartFinancial by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 16,525 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SMBK opened at $20.57 on Wednesday. SmartFinancial has a twelve month low of $18.86 and a twelve month high of $25.98. The company has a market cap of $350.92 million, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.02). SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $65.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. On average, analysts predict that SmartFinancial will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

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.