Ridgepath Capital Management LLC Takes Position in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK)

Ridgepath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 6,526 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SmartFinancial in the 4th quarter valued at about $351,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $192,000. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter worth $310,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,292 shares of the bank’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in SmartFinancial by 78.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,848 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 10,055 shares during the last quarter. 58.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at SmartFinancial

In other news, Director John M. Presley sold 6,916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $242,405.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,798. This represents a 63.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 7,766 shares of company stock valued at $271,800 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.68% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SMBK opened at $35.20 on Friday. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.00 and a 12 month 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. The company has a market cap of $595.94 million, a P/E ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.01.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of SmartFinancial from $28.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.70.

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.