SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.4167.

Several research firms have commented on SMBK. Stephens upped their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Benchmark boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on SmartFinancial from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial during the second quarter worth $371,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in SmartFinancial by 17.7% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 6,570 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in SmartFinancial by 106.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 15,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 7,965 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 1,111.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,041 shares of the bank’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 9,212 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of SmartFinancial in the second quarter worth about $47,000. 58.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SmartFinancial Stock Down 0.2%

SMBK stock opened at $52.11 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.74. The company has a market capitalization of $890.98 million, a P/E ratio of 24.35 and a beta of 0.68. 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 has a 12 month low of $33.01 and a 12 month high of $54.14.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

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

SmartFinancial Company Profile

SmartFinancial, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, SmartBank. The company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions, with offerings that include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, business loans and other credit products.

SmartBank also provides treasury management and cash-management services for businesses, along with mortgage banking, wealth management and related financial services.