SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Board Accelerates Returns With Dividend And Buybacks

Management’s capital-return actions shift near-term emphasis toward shareholder distributions even as fundamentals show modest profitability and conservative leverage. Technicals favor a short-term bullish bias, tempered by limited momentum breadth.

Recent News

On January 29, 2026 the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share payable March 2, 2026 (record date February 13, 2026). The board also authorized a 2026 repurchase plan permitting up to $10.0 million in share repurchases, effective March 1, 2026. Earlier in January the company extended its registered exchange offer for 7.25% fixed-to-floating subordinated notes due 2035 through January 9, 2026. The company set fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release and conference call dates for January 20–21, 2026.

Technical Analysis

ADX at 21.32 signals an emerging directional trend rather than a strong trend; that emerging trend supports the valuation’s fair-valued posture by implying limited follow-through risk for now.

DI+ sits at 24.82 and is increasing while DI‑ sits at 14.59 and is decreasing; that configuration reads as a bullish directional bias that supports potential near-term upside toward the current analyst price-target mean.

MACD registers 0.51, the MACD trend is increasing, and the MACD sits above its signal line (0.04); the MACD crossing-above the signal line constitutes a bullish momentum signal that aligns with the DI+ directional bias.

MRO equals 5.34 and is increasing; because the MRO is positive, the model indicates the price currently sits above the internal target and therefore carries measurable downside potential if momentum stalls.

RSI at 55.13 and rising reflects constructive, non-overbought momentum and therefore room for continuation, consistent with the MACD and DI+ readings.

Price closed at $42.19, above the 20-day average ($39.76), 50-day average ($40.04) and 200-day average ($37.08); price also trades above Ichimoku Tenkan (40.19) and Kijun (39.80), reinforcing the short-term bullish posture. Price sits above the 1× Bollinger upper band ($41.45) but below the 2× upper band ($43.14), indicating strength with limited extension.

Volume at 33,571 trails 10-, 50- and 200-day averages and therefore weakens conviction behind the recent upside; low relative volume raises the chance of range-bound action or short-term pullbacks to the SuperTrend support at $39.48.

 


Fundamental Analysis

Earnings per share came in at $0.81 versus an estimate of $0.78, producing a positive EPS surprise of 3.85%. WMDST notes the EPS beat while recognizing the company’s YoY earnings contraction; reported earnings growth equals -5.81% year-over-year.

Price-to-earnings stands at 45.82; this ratio sits slightly above the industry peer mean of 43.92 and modestly above the industry peer median of 43.18, implying a premium relative to the average peer multiple. Forward P/E equals 37.29 and sits roughly in line with the industry peer mean forward P/E (about 37.52), offering some forward-year multiple relief versus the trailing P/E.

Price-to-book equals 1.14, which falls below the industry peer mean of 1.263 and sits close to the industry peer median of 1.205; the P/B compression relative to the peer mean partially offsets the higher trailing P/E when framing valuation.

PEG ratio registers negative (-7.88) and forward PEG remains negative, reflecting negative reported growth rates embedded in the multiple and signaling that current multiples do not assume sustained near-term earnings acceleration.

Cash flow shows strength: free cash flow equals $16,176,000 with a free-cash-flow yield of 2.56%, above the industry peer mean free-cash-flow yield of roughly 2.20%. Operating cash flow totaled $16,530,000 and free-cash-to-net-income exceeds 1.18, indicating solid conversion of accounting earnings into cash.

Balance-sheet metrics reflect conservative leverage: total debt equals $98,662,000, debt-to-assets equals 1.68%, and debt-to-equity equals 17.86%. Asset growth stands at 1.31% and return on equity measures 2.48% (return on assets 0.24%), both modest and consistent with a low-risk regional-bank franchise.

Capital return policy now includes a $0.08 quarterly dividend (dividend payout ratio ~9.95%, dividend coverage ~10.05) and a $10.0 million repurchase authorization; these actions shift capital allocation toward distributions while the company retains above-zero free cash flow and low leverage. WMDST values the stock as fair-valued.

MOST-RECENT QUARTERLY REPORT
REPORT PERIOD ENDING: 2025-12-31
REPORT DATE: 2026-01-20
NEXT REPORT DATE: 2026-04-21
CASH FLOW  Begin Period Cash Flow 557.1 M
 Operating Cash Flow 16.5 M
 Capital Expenditures -354.00 K
 Change In Working Capital -1.20 M
 Dividends Paid -1.36 M
 Cash Flow Delta -92.71 M
 End Period Cash Flow 464.4 M
 
INCOME STATEMENT REVENUE
 Total Revenue 53.3 M
 Forward Revenue 16.9 M
COSTS
 Cost Of Revenue
 Depreciation 1.3 M
 Depreciation and Amortization 1.8 M
 Research and Development
 Total Operating Expenses
PROFITABILITY
 Gross Profit
 EBITDA
 EBIT
 Operating Income
 Interest Income 75.6 M
 Interest Expense 30.5 M
 Net Interest Income 45.1 M
 Income Before Tax 16.7 M
 Tax Provision 3.0 M
 Tax Rate 18.0 %
 Net Income 13.7 M
 Net Income From Continuing Operations 13.7 M
EARNINGS
 EPS Estimate 0.78
 EPS Actual 0.81
 EPS Difference 0.03
 EPS Surprise 3.846 %
 Forward EPS 1.02
 
BALANCE SHEET ASSETS
 Total Assets 5.9 B
 Intangible Assets 95.3 M
 Net Tangible Assets 457.1 M
 Total Current Assets
 Cash and Short-Term Investments
 Cash 451.6 M
 Net Receivables
 Inventory
 Long-Term Investments
LIABILITIES
 Accounts Payable
 Short-Term Debt
 Total Current Liabilities
 Net Debt
 Total Debt 98.7 M
 Total Liabilities 5.3 B
EQUITY
 Total Equity 552.4 M
 Retained Earnings 248.7 M
VALUATION & PER-SHARE METRICS EQUITY & PER-SHARE METRICS
 Book Value Per-Share 32.44
 Shares Outstanding 17.029 M
 Revenue Per-Share 3.13
VALUATION
 Market Capitalization 632.0 M
 Enterprise Value 730.7 M
 Enterprise Multiple
Enterprise Multiple QoQ
Enterprise Multiple YoY
Enterprise Multiple IPRWA
 EV/R 13.706
CAPITAL STRUCTURE
 Asset To Equity 10.61
 Asset To Liability 1.104
 Debt To Capital 0.152
 Debt To Assets 0.017
Debt To Assets QoQ -29.758 %
Debt To Assets YoY 2114.474 %
Debt To Assets IPRWA high: 0.157
median: 0.058
mean: 0.054
SMBK: 0.017
low: -0.0
 Debt To Equity 0.179
Debt To Equity QoQ -30.623 %
Debt To Equity YoY 2094.226 %
Debt To Equity IPRWA high: 1.415
mean: 0.478
median: 0.466
SMBK: 0.179
low: -0.002
PRICE-BASED VALUATION
 Price To Book (P/B) 1.144
Price To Book QoQ 2.644 %
Price To Book YoY 3.771 %
Price To Book IPRWA high: 2.039
mean: 1.263
median: 1.205
SMBK: 1.144
low: 0.274
 Price To Earnings (P/E) 45.818
Price To Earnings QoQ 11.808 %
Price To Earnings YoY -18.405 %
Price To Earnings IPRWA high: 77.079
SMBK: 45.818
mean: 43.919
median: 43.18
low: 30.108
 PE/G Ratio -7.881
 Price To Sales (P/S) 11.855
Price To Sales QoQ -6.933 %
Price To Sales YoY 2.44 %
Price To Sales IPRWA high: 22.493
mean: 13.147
median: 12.523
SMBK: 11.855
low: 0.123
FORWARD MULTIPLES
Forward P/E 37.288
Forward PE/G -6.414
Forward P/S 37.547
EFFICIENCY OPERATIONAL
 Operating Leverage
ASSET & SALES
 Asset Turnover Ratio 0.009
Asset Turnover Ratio QoQ 9.569 %
Asset Turnover Ratio YoY -0.326 %
Asset Turnover Ratio IPRWA high: 0.015
mean: 0.01
median: 0.01
SMBK: 0.009
low: 0.006
 Receivables Turnover
Receivables Turnover Ratio QoQ
Receivables Turnover Ratio YoY
Receivables Turnover Ratio IPRWA
 Inventory Turnover
Inventory Turnover Ratio QoQ
Inventory Turnover Ratio YoY
Inventory Turnover Ratio IPRWA
 Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
CASH CYCLE
 Cash Conversion Cycle Days (CCC)
Cash Conversion Cycle Days QoQ
Cash Conversion Cycle Days YoY
Cash Conversion Cycle Days IPRWA
CAPITAL DEPLOYMENT
 Cash Conversion Ratio
 CapEx To Revenue -0.007
 CapEx To Depreciation -0.27
 
CAPITAL, LIQUIDITY & COVERAGE CAPITAL STRUCTURE
 Total Capital 651.0 M
 Net Invested Capital 651.0 M
 Invested Capital 651.0 M
 Net Tangible Assets 457.1 M
 Net Working Capital
LIQUIDITY
 Cash Ratio
 Current Ratio
Current Ratio QoQ
Current Ratio YoY
Current Ratio IPRWA
 Quick Ratio
Quick Ratio QoQ
Quick Ratio YoY
Quick Ratio IPRWA
COVERAGE & LEVERAGE
 Debt To EBITDA
 Cost Of Debt 28.369 %
 Interest Coverage Ratio
Interest Coverage Ratio QoQ
Interest Coverage Ratio YoY
Interest Coverage Ratio IPRWA
 Operating Cash Flow Ratio
TIMING / LIQUIDITY
 Days Payables Outstanding (DPO)
DIVIDENDS
 Dividend Coverage Ratio 10.046
 Dividend Payout Ratio 0.1
 Dividend Rate 0.08
 Dividend Yield 0.002
PERFORMANCE GROWTH
 Asset Growth Rate 1.311 %
 Revenue Growth -4.324 %
Revenue Growth QoQ -0.0 %
Revenue Growth YoY -172.296 %
Revenue Growth IPRWA high: 23.369 %
mean: 3.437 %
median: 3.159 %
SMBK: -4.324 %
low: -10.947 %
 Earnings Growth -5.814 %
Earnings Growth QoQ -123.598 %
Earnings Growth YoY -204.644 %
Earnings Growth IPRWA high: 44.444 %
mean: 3.154 %
median: 2.632 %
SMBK: -5.814 %
low: -25.0 %
MARGINS
 Gross Margin
Gross Margin QoQ
Gross Margin YoY
Gross Margin IPRWA
 EBIT Margin
EBIT Margin QoQ
EBIT Margin YoY
EBIT Margin IPRWA
 Return On Sales (ROS)
Return On Sales QoQ
Return On Sales YoY
Return On Sales IPRWA
CASH FLOW
 Free Cash Flow (FCF) 16.2 M
 Free Cash Flow Yield 2.559 %
Free Cash Flow Yield QoQ -7.249 %
Free Cash Flow Yield YoY -9.704 %
Free Cash Flow Yield IPRWA high: 7.476 %
SMBK: 2.559 %
median: 2.306 %
mean: 2.196 %
low: -3.012 %
 Free Cash Growth -2.301 %
Free Cash Growth QoQ -109.198 %
Free Cash Growth YoY -106.51 %
Free Cash Growth IPRWA high: 176.765 %
SMBK: -2.301 %
mean: -2.877 %
median: -9.484 %
low: -234.402 %
 Free Cash To Net Income 1.18
 Cash Flow Margin 29.065 %
 Cash Flow To Earnings 1.131
VALUE & RETURNS
 Economic Value Added 0.07
 Return On Assets (ROA) 0.235 %
Return On Assets QoQ -3.292 %
Return On Assets YoY 24.339 %
Return On Assets IPRWA high: 0.645 %
median: 0.311 %
mean: 0.31 %
SMBK: 0.235 %
low: -0.023 %
 Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
 Return On Equity (ROE) 0.025
Return On Equity QoQ -2.4 %
Return On Equity YoY 26.453 %
Return On Equity IPRWA high: 0.047
mean: 0.028
median: 0.028
SMBK: 0.025
low: 0.003
 DuPont ROE 2.514 %
 Return On Invested Capital (ROIC)
Return On Invested Capital QoQ
Return On Invested Capital YoY
Return On Invested Capital IPRWA

Six-Week Outlook

Expect a modest bullish tilt driven by converging momentum indicators (DI+, MACD, rising RSI) and price trading above key moving averages; the immediate technical bias supports continuation into the mid-$40s, with upside capped by limited momentum breadth and a positive MRO that flags downside risk if volume fails to improve. Capital-return announcements (dividend and buyback) provide a structural support floor for valuation, while low leverage and positive free cash flow reduce event risk. Monitor volume and the MRO reading for the first sign that the short-term advance loses conviction.

About SmartFinancial, Inc.

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) serves as the bank holding company for SmartBank, delivering a comprehensive range of financial services to both individual and corporate clients across Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. The company structures its operations into several segments, including Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other. SmartFinancial provides a variety of deposit products such as noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, time deposits, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit. In lending, the company extends commercial and residential real estate loans, consumer real estate loans, and construction and land development loans. It also offers commercial and financial loans and leases, as well as direct consumer installment, educational, agriculture, and revolving credit loans. Additional services encompass equipment financing, loans and leases for heavy equipment, semis, and trailers, letters of credit, and overdraft facilities. SmartFinancial also delivers wealth management, insurance, mortgage origination, and digital banking services. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, SmartFinancial, Inc. continues to expand its footprint in the southeastern United States.



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