HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 31,150 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 29,903 shares.The stock last traded at $29.39 and had previously closed at $29.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on HBT shares. DA Davidson set a $27.00 price objective on HBT Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

HBT Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $912.47 million, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.46.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The company had revenue of $61.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.00 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 13.69%. As a group, analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS 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 given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.70%.

HBT Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of HBT Financial by 162.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 117.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 92,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after buying an additional 50,047 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in HBT Financial by 15.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 219,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 29,892 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the third quarter worth $725,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 184.9% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 33,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 21,775 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.