SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) by 60.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,785 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 20,822 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in SmartFinancial were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 176.1% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,325 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 14,240 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 107.9% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 13,834 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,967 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,217,000 after buying an additional 8,354 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 78,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,907,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in SmartFinancial by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 728,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,934,000 after buying an additional 80,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on SMBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Benchmark started coverage on SmartFinancial in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SmartFinancial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cathy G. Ackermann bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.12 per share, for a total transaction of $126,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,281.72. This trade represents a 17.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor Lynn Barrett bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $43.78 per share, for a total transaction of $131,340.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 151,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,642,476.72. The trade was a 2.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought a total of 6,290 shares of company stock worth $269,677 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.93% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $46.72 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.00. The stock has a market cap of $798.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 0.70. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.63 and a fifty-two week high of $49.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

SmartFinancial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from SmartFinancial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 11.54%.

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.