Brokerages Set HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Price Target at $28.50

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.50.

HBT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson set a $27.00 price objective on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

HBT Financial Stock Up 1.6%

HBT opened at $28.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $904.24 million, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. HBT Financial has a 52 week low of $19.46 and a 52 week high of $29.88.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 26.20%.The company had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.00 million. Analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 37.70%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 117.8% during the third quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 92,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 50,047 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 57.7% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 58,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 21,410 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in HBT Financial by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 113,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after buying an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 99,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in HBT Financial by 162.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 66,161 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.