SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Stock Passes Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.62 and traded as high as $33.67. SmartFinancial shares last traded at $32.32, with a volume of 38,258 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMBK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens downgraded shares of SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.70.

SmartFinancial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $547.05 million, a P/E ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SmartFinancial

In other SmartFinancial news, Director John M. Presley sold 6,916 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,798. This trade represents a 63.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn purchased 1,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.75 per share, for a total transaction of $40,379.50. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 96,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,368,595.50. The trade was a 1.21 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,091 shares of the bank’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in SmartFinancial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 30,026 shares of the bank’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,377,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in SmartFinancial by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 14,925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 269.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,538 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

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.