SmartFinancial’s (SMBK) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $26.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SMBK. StockNews.com raised SmartFinancial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on SmartFinancial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SmartFinancial has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $26.25.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

NASDAQ SMBK opened at $20.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $350.92 million, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.94. SmartFinancial has a 1-year low of $18.86 and a 1-year high of $25.98.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $65.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.14 million. SmartFinancial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 7.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that SmartFinancial will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at SmartFinancial

In related news, EVP Gary Wayne Petty, Jr. sold 2,394 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $412,938.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartFinancial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in SmartFinancial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,872,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,382 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after buying an additional 34,488 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 106,463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 32,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at approximately $292,000. 58.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.