HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Receives $24.75 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.75.

HBT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on HBT Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $24.50 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,055 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.81, for a total value of $125,414.55. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 53,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,330,188.15. This trade represents a 8.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $969,500. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in HBT Financial by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 37,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 35,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 43,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 17,130 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $389,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HBT Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:HBT opened at $22.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. HBT Financial has a 1-year low of $18.00 and a 1-year high of $26.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.98 and a 200 day moving average of $23.07. The firm has a market cap of $707.24 million, a PE ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.81.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that HBT Financial will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About HBT Financial

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.