SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $37.03 and last traded at $36.76, with a volume of 13405 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SMBK shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Hovde Group increased their target price on SmartFinancial from $28.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.50.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $611.83 million, a PE ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.38.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 11.88%. The firm had revenue of $73.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.49%.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 429.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,688 shares of the bank’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 19,210 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 7.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 4,375 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 130,361 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 24,979 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 150,870 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,179,000 after buying an additional 44,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 789,233 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,629,000 after buying an additional 19,490 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Company Profile

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.