HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.75.

HBT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $24.50 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,055 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.81, for a total transaction of $125,414.55. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 53,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,330,188.15. This represents a 8.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total transaction of $198,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,508,140. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,900 shares of company stock worth $969,500 in the last ninety days. 59.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in HBT Financial by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 461,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,110,000 after acquiring an additional 29,200 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in HBT Financial by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 332,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,287,000 after acquiring an additional 32,146 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in HBT Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,111,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in HBT Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.70. 2,258 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,988. HBT Financial has a one year low of $18.00 and a one year high of $26.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.95 and its 200 day moving average is $23.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $716.23 million, a P/E ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.81.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. On average, research analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

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

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

HBT Financial Company Profile

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.