20,275 Shares in SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK Purchased by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 20,275 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $792,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned 0.12% of SmartFinancial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in SmartFinancial by 173.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,895 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in SmartFinancial by 209.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial in the 2nd quarter valued at $128,000. 58.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at SmartFinancial

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

SmartFinancial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ SMBK opened at $46.47 on Monday. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.63 and a 12-month high of $49.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $794.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 0.70.

SmartFinancial Increases Dividend

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

SmartFinancial 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.