HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• HBT Financial shares reached a 52-week high of $38.47, trading up about 2.5% during the session.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $0.86 versus the $0.79 consensus and revenue of $84.21 million versus estimates of $82.87 million.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Buy, with an average price target of $39.20; HBT also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $38.47 and last traded at $37.7650, with a volume of 9,859 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on HBT shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of HBT Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research upgraded HBT Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised HBT Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.20.

HBT Financial Stock Up 2.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $35.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.43.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $84.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.87 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.66% and a return on equity of 14.48%. As a group, research analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. HBT Financial's payout ratio is 39.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HBT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,321,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,159 shares of the company's stock worth $14,995,000 after purchasing an additional 15,350 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,675,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,552,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 857.6% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 160,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,288,000 after purchasing an additional 143,727 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company's stock.

HBT Financial Company Profile

HBT Financial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. Its principal subsidiary, Heartland Bank and Trust Company, operates as a community bank serving individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and institutions.

Heartland Bank provides a range of traditional banking products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer loans, commercial lending and agricultural financing. The bank also offers treasury management, online and mobile banking, wealth management, trust and investment services, and other financial solutions.

Through its branch network and digital channels, HBT Financial serves communities primarily across central and eastern Illinois and parts of eastern Iowa.

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.