Zacks Research Upgrades HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) to “Strong-Buy”

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded HBT Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson lifted 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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 research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

HBT Financial Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ HBT opened at $35.69 on Monday. HBT Financial has a one year low of $22.36 and a one year high of $37.51. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.42.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.05. HBT Financial had a net margin of 23.44% and a return on equity of 13.46%. The firm had revenue of $80.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.36 million. Equities analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBT. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HBT Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $451,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in HBT Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $374,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in HBT Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,552,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at about $147,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at about $1,048,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

About HBT Financial

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, businesses and agricultural customers.

Heartland Bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, commercial lending, agricultural financing and treasury management services. Its other services include wealth management, trust and investment services, online and mobile banking, and insurance-related products.

The company serves communities primarily across central, eastern and western Illinois through a network of banking locations and digital channels.