HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04, Zacks reports. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 14.70%.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $22.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $706.31 million, a PE ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.33. HBT Financial has a 52-week low of $17.75 and a 52-week high of $25.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at HBT Financial

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $114,768.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 86,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,073,194.24. The trade was a 5.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,498 shares of company stock valued at $351,985. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on HBT. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson downgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HBT Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.40.

HBT Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About HBT Financial

HBT Financial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company that provides business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and municipal entities in Central and Northeastern Illinois, and Eastern Iowa. The company's deposits accounts consist of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposits, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts.