HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.40.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HBT shares. Hovde Group upped their target price on HBT Financial from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. DA Davidson raised their price target on HBT Financial from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 3.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 17,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 6.6% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in HBT Financial by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $35.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.12. HBT Financial has a 52-week low of $22.36 and a 52-week high of $37.51.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $80.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.36 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 23.44%. Sell-side analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.92%.

About HBT Financial

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.