SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Earns Strong-Buy Rating from Raymond James

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "strong-buy" rating reiterated by analysts at Raymond James in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $42.00 price target on the bank's stock, up from their previous price target of $36.00. Raymond James' price target points to a potential upside of 20.42% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on SMBK. Stephens lowered shares of SmartFinancial from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $28.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.70.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

SMBK stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $34.88. The company had a trading volume of 91,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,498. The firm has a market capitalization of $590.48 million, a PE ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.63. SmartFinancial has a fifty-two week low of $19.00 and a fifty-two week high of $37.72. 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 (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $73.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.32 million. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 12.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Analysts anticipate that SmartFinancial will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John M. Presley sold 6,916 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $242,405.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,960 shares in the company, valued at $138,798. This trade represents a 63.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,516 shares of company stock worth $262,600. 7.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SmartFinancial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial in the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter worth about $351,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in SmartFinancial in the fourth quarter worth about $192,000. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in SmartFinancial in the 4th quarter valued at about $310,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,292 shares of the bank's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.