HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Raises Dividend to $0.21 Per Share

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 23rd,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.21 per share on Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19.

HBT Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.2% annually over the last three years. HBT Financial has a payout ratio of 34.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect HBT Financial to earn $2.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.8%.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $22.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.35. HBT Financial has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $25.35. The firm has a market cap of $718.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. Analysts anticipate that HBT Financial will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total value of $52,492.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 91,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,182,474.20. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985. Corporate insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HBT shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.40.

HBT Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

HBT Financial Company Profile

HBT Financial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company that provides business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and municipal entities in Central and Northeastern Illinois, and Eastern Iowa. The company's deposits accounts consist of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposits, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts.