HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

HBT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on HBT Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HBT. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. CWM LLC increased its position in HBT Financial by 59.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in HBT Financial by 66.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake 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 worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HBT opened at $26.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $822.52 million, a PE ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.57. HBT Financial has a 1-year low of $19.46 and a 1-year high of $29.88.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The business had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.00 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 13.50%. On average, equities analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.70%.

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

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.