HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $34.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. HBT Financial traded as high as $32.11 and last traded at $31.28, with a volume of 1113675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.75.

HBT has been the subject of several other reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research cut HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings cut HBT Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded HBT Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total value of $455,416.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 45,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,427.95. The trade was a 25.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 51.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 7.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 6,261 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15,350 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 28,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 857.6% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 160,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,288,000 after purchasing an additional 143,727 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Trading Down 0.0%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.53.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 22.72%.The business had revenue of $67.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.75 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 42.20%.

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.