HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $30.85 and last traded at $30.81, with a volume of 28647 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HBT. Weiss Ratings downgraded HBT Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HBT Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

HBT Financial Trading Up 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.65.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $67.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.75 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 22.72%. Analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 42.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HBT Financial

In other news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total value of $455,416.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 45,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,427.95. This represents a 25.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 51.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 7.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of HBT Financial by 36.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 6,261 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of HBT Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,995,000 after purchasing an additional 15,350 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 28,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 857.6% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 160,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,288,000 after purchasing an additional 143,727 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.