HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 434,871 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1,116% from the previous session’s volume of 35,771 shares.The stock last traded at $25.70 and had previously closed at $26.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on HBT shares. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.50.

HBT Financial Trading Down 2.7%

The firm has a market cap of $803.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.90.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results 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. Equities analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is 37.70%.

HBT Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBT. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in HBT Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in HBT Financial by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings 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 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. acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at $208,000. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.