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

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HBT. DA Davidson set a $27.00 price objective on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of HBT Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th.

HBT Financial Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT opened at $26.04 on Monday. HBT Financial has a 1 year low of $19.46 and a 1 year high of $27.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $24.73 and its 200-day moving average is $25.13. The company has a market capitalization of $818.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.60.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 26.64%.The business had revenue of $59.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.87%.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically 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 modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 32.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 66.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 906.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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.