Bank of America Corp DE Buys New Holdings in HBT Financial, Inc. $HBT

Key Points

• Bank of America bought 32,761 shares of HBT Financial worth approximately $1.05 million, while other institutional investors—including BlackRock—also increased their positions. Institutional ownership now stands at 78.55%.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with HBT carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $37.40; several firms recently raised their targets to between $38 and $44.
• HBT shares opened at $36.34, near their 52-week high, after the company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations. HBT also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25, equivalent to a 2.8% annual yield.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.09% of HBT Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HBT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in HBT Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,321,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,159 shares of the company's stock worth $14,995,000 after buying an additional 15,350 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $15,675,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 857.6% during the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 160,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,288,000 after buying an additional 143,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,472,000. 78.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $41.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Hovde Group increased their target price on HBT Financial from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded HBT Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on HBT Financial from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.40.

HBT Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $36.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.59. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.36 and a 1 year high of $37.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.49.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $80.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.36 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 23.44%. Research analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. HBT Financial's payout ratio is currently 42.92%.

HBT Financial Profile

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.

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