Smartfinancial Stock Price, News & Analysis
Company Description
SmartFinancial, Inc. (NYSE: SMBK) is a bank holding company based in Knoxville, Tennessee. It serves as the parent of SmartBank, a full-service commercial bank founded in 2007. According to company disclosures, SmartBank operates branches across Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida, offering banking and financial services to both individuals and corporate customers in its markets.
SmartFinancial is classified in the commercial banking industry within the broader finance and insurance sector. The company’s principal banking activities, as described in its public profile, focus on attracting deposits from the general public and investing those funds, together with funds generated from operations and from principal and interest payments on loans. These funds are deployed mainly in commercial loans, commercial and residential real estate loans, consumer loans, and residential and commercial construction loans.
The primary source of revenue for SmartFinancial is interest income from earning assets, namely loans and securities. This reflects a traditional commercial banking model in which the spread between interest earned on assets and interest paid on deposits and other funding sources is a key driver of performance. SmartFinancial also reports noninterest income from activities such as service charges on deposit accounts, mortgage banking income, investment services, insurance commissions (prior to the sale of SBK Insurance), interchange and debit card transaction fees, and other fee-based services, as detailed in its earnings releases.
SmartBank’s management emphasizes recruiting the best people, delivering exceptional client service, strategic branching, and a disciplined approach to lending as important elements of its operating philosophy. Company communications repeatedly highlight these themes as contributors to SmartBank’s growth and performance in its regional footprint across Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida.
SmartFinancial’s SEC filings confirm that its common stock, with a par value of $1.00 per share, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SMBK. The company is incorporated in Tennessee, and its filings provide additional detail on capital structure and funding. For example, SmartFinancial has issued subordinated notes intended to qualify as Tier 2 capital for regulatory purposes, including 7.25% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Subordinated Notes due 2035, as disclosed in a Form 8-K describing a Subordinated Note Purchase Agreement and related registration rights.
In addition to core lending and deposit activities, SmartFinancial has engaged in balance sheet and capital management actions documented in its earnings releases and Form 8-K filings. These include the issuance of subordinated debt, repositioning of securities portfolios, and the sale of SBK Insurance Inc., an insurance subsidiary, while retaining a minority ownership interest in the purchaser’s parent entity and maintaining a strategic relationship with the agency. These actions are described by the company as part of efforts to support growth, manage capital, and adjust its mix of earning assets and noninterest income sources.
SmartFinancial’s quarterly earnings releases provide insight into its operating trends. They discuss net interest income, net interest margin on a fully tax equivalent basis, loan and lease growth, deposit growth, noninterest income and expense categories, credit quality metrics such as nonperforming loans and nonperforming assets, and allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans and leases. The company also discloses various non-GAAP measures, including operating earnings, operating noninterest income, operating noninterest expense, operating pre-provision net revenue, tangible book value per share, and tangible common equity as a percentage of tangible assets, along with reconciliations to GAAP measures.
SmartFinancial’s board of directors has declared regular quarterly cash dividends on its common stock, as reported in multiple press releases and corresponding Form 8-K filings. These dividends reflect a capital management approach that includes returning a portion of earnings to shareholders while also supporting balance sheet growth and regulatory capital ratios.
Through its periodic earnings calls and investor presentations, SmartFinancial provides additional context on its performance, strategy, and market conditions. The company files investor slide presentations as exhibits to Form 8-K in connection with its quarterly results, offering more detailed information on loan and deposit composition, market footprint, and financial metrics. These materials, together with the company’s SEC filings and press releases, form the primary public record for investors analyzing SMBK stock and SmartFinancial’s commercial banking operations.