HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give HBT Financial a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (4 buys, 3 holds) with an average 1‑year target of $28.50, including a Raymond James upgrade to an $30 price objective.
• Fundamentals show the company is profitable—last quarter EPS was $0.64 (in line with estimates) on $61.46M revenue, a 26.2% net margin and 13.7% ROE, with analysts forecasting ~2.34 EPS for the year.
• HBT is boosting shareholder returns, raising the quarterly dividend to $0.23 (annualized $0.92, ~3.5% yield) and authorizing a $30.00 million buyback (about 3.5% of shares outstanding).

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.50.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of HBT Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

HBT Financial Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of HBT Financial stock opened at $26.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $825.67 million, a P/E ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.89. HBT Financial has a 52-week low of $19.46 and a 52-week high of $29.88.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The business had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.00 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 13.69%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.70%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HBT. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 99,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in HBT Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 17,949 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HBT Financial Company Profile

HBT Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community-focused financial institution based in Lenoir, North Carolina. Through its subsidiary, HomeTrust Bank, the company provides a full suite of personal and business banking services across western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and Upstate South Carolina. The company's operations include a network of branch offices, ATMs and online banking platforms designed to serve both urban and rural communities in its primary market areas.

HomeTrust Bank's product offerings encompass traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.

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.