HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• HBT Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with six brokers split evenly between buy and hold recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $31.25.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $0.68 versus estimates of $0.62 and revenue of $67.84 million, slightly above forecasts. Analysts now expect full-year earnings of 2.95 per share.
• HBT Financial also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.23, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.9%. Meanwhile, chairman Fred L. Drake sold shares in a recent insider transaction, and institutional ownership remains high at 78.55%.

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.25.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered HBT Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of HBT Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of HBT Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $31.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.54 and a 200-day moving average of $28.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. HBT Financial has a fifty-two week low of $22.36 and a fifty-two week high of $33.10.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. HBT Financial had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $67.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.75 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total value of $455,416.06. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 45,815 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,427.95. This trade represents a 25.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 51.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of HBT Financial by 42.4% during the 4th 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,892 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in HBT Financial by 906.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in HBT Financial during the second quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in HBT Financial during the first quarter valued at about $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.55% of the company's stock.

About HBT Financial

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.

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