HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 244,270 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 755% from the previous session’s volume of 28,575 shares.The stock last traded at $26.58 and had previously closed at $27.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HBT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $870.30 million, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.42 and its 200 day moving average is $25.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 26.20%.The business had revenue of $61.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.00 million. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.70%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in HBT Financial by 32.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 66.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 906.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

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.