SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $30.34 and last traded at $30.24, with a volume of 35578 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SMBK. Hovde Group boosted their price target on SmartFinancial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.00.

SmartFinancial Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.20 million, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.88.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. SmartFinancial had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 6.55%. The company had revenue of $68.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.51%.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the third quarter valued at $161,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in SmartFinancial during the 1st quarter valued at about $271,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the 3rd quarter worth about $394,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $415,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings 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 valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 19,210 shares in the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is currently 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.