HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock Now Rated "Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Seven brokerages give HBT Financial an average “Buy” rating, with a consensus 12-month price target of $37.40. Recent actions included a $41 target from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and a “strong buy” upgrade from Zacks Research.
• HBT Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.78 in earnings per share versus the $0.73 consensus and $80.90 million in revenue versus $80.36 million expected.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% yield, while institutional investors own 78.55% of outstanding shares.

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.40.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised HBT Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered HBT Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded HBT Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT opened at $35.58 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $35.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.22. HBT Financial has a 52 week low of $22.36 and a 52 week high of $37.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $80.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.36 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 23.44%. Analysts anticipate that HBT Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is 42.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in HBT Financial in the second quarter worth about $63,321,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in HBT Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,675,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in HBT Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,995,000 after buying an additional 15,350 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in HBT Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,552,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,472,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About HBT Financial

HBT Financial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. Through its principal subsidiary, Heartland Bank and Trust Company, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, farmers, and businesses.

Heartland Bank offers checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, agricultural lending, mortgages, treasury management, and other deposit and lending products. The bank also provides trust, wealth management, investment, and retirement planning services through its financial services operations.

HBT Financial's banking operations primarily serve communities across Illinois, with a focus on central and eastern parts of the state.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.