HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Research Coverage Started at Hovde Group

Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $24.50 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.75.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $22.51 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. HBT Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.00 and a fifty-two week high of $26.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.05. The firm has a market cap of $710.39 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.81.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that HBT Financial 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 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

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

Insider Transactions at HBT Financial

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in HBT Financial by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 461,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,110,000 after acquiring an additional 29,200 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 332,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,146 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,111,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in HBT Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.