SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Rating Increased to Overweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Piper Sandler currently has $26.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $25.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SmartFinancial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $25.40.

SmartFinancial Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ SMBK opened at $20.66 on Wednesday. SmartFinancial has a one year low of $18.86 and a one year high of $25.98. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.46 million, a P/E ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.69.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is 20.51%.

Insider Transactions at SmartFinancial

In other news, EVP Gary Wayne Petty, Jr. sold 2,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.63, for a total value of $51,782.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,091 shares in the company, valued at $412,938.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at $159,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at $758,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 33,427 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 11,750 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 31,747 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 32,968 shares in the last quarter. 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.