HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.37 and last traded at $29.27, with a volume of 38119 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HBT. Raymond James Financial upgraded HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. DA Davidson set a $27.00 target price on HBT Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HBT Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

HBT Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.47. The stock has a market cap of $927.50 million, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.58.

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

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.43%.

HBT Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 16,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 4,940 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in HBT Financial by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 21,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in HBT Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 17,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 612 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 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.