SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Benchmark

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) was upgraded by analysts at Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of SmartFinancial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.50.

SmartFinancial Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ SMBK opened at $46.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $799.64 million, a PE ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 0.72. SmartFinancial has a twelve month low of $32.51 and a twelve month high of $47.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SmartFinancial news, Director Victor Lynn Barrett acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.78 per share, for a total transaction of $131,340.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 151,724 shares in the company, valued at $6,642,476.72. This trade represents a 2.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cathy G. Ackermann purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.12 per share, for a total transaction of $126,360.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,281.72. The trade was a 17.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 6,290 shares of company stock valued at $269,677. 6.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 801.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 30,769 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 132,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,885,000 after acquiring an additional 16,367 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at $1,143,000. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 83.4% during the third quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 84,570 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,022,000 after buying an additional 38,466 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial in the 3rd quarter worth about $724,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Company Profile

SmartFinancial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, operating through its primary subsidiary, SmartBank. Incorporated in 2006, the company provides a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses and public entities across its regional footprint. SmartFinancial’s network of branch offices and digital platforms combines community-banking relationships with modern technology to serve its customers’ evolving needs.

Through SmartBank, the company offers a broad range of deposit products, including checking, savings and certificate of deposit accounts, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.