SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 1,771 Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,292 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in SmartFinancial were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 5,269.2% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SmartFinancial in the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. CAP Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the third quarter worth $230,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the third quarter worth $272,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in SmartFinancial in the 3rd quarter valued at $334,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn bought 1,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.75 per share, for a total transaction of $40,379.50. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 96,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,368,595.50. This trade represents a 1.21 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John M. Presley sold 6,916 shares of SmartFinancial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $242,405.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,798. The trade was a 63.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,466 shares of company stock valued at $262,044. 7.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SMBK. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens downgraded SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their target price on SmartFinancial from $28.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SmartFinancial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.70.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $36.26 on Friday. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.00 and a 52-week high of $37.72. The company has a market cap of $613.81 million, a P/E ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.35.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

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.