HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $27.02 and last traded at $26.37, with a volume of 19687 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HBT shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up previously from $24.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.80.

HBT Financial Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $818.21 million, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $58.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.45 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 26.22%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in HBT Financial by 6.8% in 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 during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 359,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,066,000 after buying an additional 27,169 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 278,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,234,000 after buying an additional 30,467 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in HBT Financial by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 219,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 29,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 113,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is 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.