SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Given New $23.00 Price Target at Hovde Group

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) had its target price dropped by analysts at Hovde Group from $26.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.81% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SMBK. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SmartFinancial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of SmartFinancial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

SmartFinancial Trading Up 4.6 %

NASDAQ SMBK opened at $20.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $350.92 million, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.94. SmartFinancial has a 52 week low of $18.86 and a 52 week high of $25.98.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $65.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.14 million. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 10.65%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SmartFinancial will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at SmartFinancial

In related news, EVP Gary Wayne Petty, Jr. sold 2,394 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.63, for a total transaction of $51,782.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $412,938.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SmartFinancial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter worth $1,872,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in SmartFinancial during the third quarter valued at $758,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,382 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 34,488 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 106,463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 32,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in SmartFinancial during the third quarter valued at $292,000. 58.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.