HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) versus Community Heritage Financial (OTCMKTS:CMHF) Head-To-Head Contrast

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) and Community Heritage Financial (OTCMKTS:CMHF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares HBT Financial and Community Heritage Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HBT Financial	$293.97 million	3.03	$77.01 million	$2.44	11.63
Community Heritage Financial	$60.49 million	1.50	$8.61 million	$2.94	10.51

HBT Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Community Heritage Financial. Community Heritage Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HBT Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares HBT Financial and Community Heritage Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HBT Financial	26.20%	13.69%	1.58%
Community Heritage Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

HBT Financial has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Heritage Financial has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

HBT Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Community Heritage Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. HBT Financial pays out 37.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Heritage Financial pays out 10.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. HBT Financial has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. HBT Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for HBT Financial and Community Heritage Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HBT Financial	0	3	4	0	2.57
Community Heritage Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

HBT Financial presently has a consensus price target of $28.50, suggesting a potential upside of 0.42%. Given HBT Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe HBT Financial is more favorable than Community Heritage Financial.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.6% of HBT Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.2% of Community Heritage Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 59.8% of HBT Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

HBT Financial beats Community Heritage Financial on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Its loan offering comprises owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate; construction and land development and multi-family; commercial and industrial; agricultural and farmland; and one-to-four family residential loans, as well as municipal, consumer, and other loans. The company also offers wealth management services, including financial planning to consumers, trusts, and estates; trustee and custodial; investment management; corporate retirement plan consulting and administration; and retail brokerage services. In addition, it provides farmland management, and farmland sales and services; commercial checking accounts; and treasury management services, as well as originates and sells residential mortgage loans. Further, the company offers digital banking services, such as online and mobile banking, and digital payment services, as well as personal financial management tools. The company was formerly known as Heartland Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to HBT Financial, Inc. in September 2019. HBT Financial, Inc. was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois.

About Community Heritage Financial

Community Heritage Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Middletown Valley Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in Frederick and Washington counties in Maryland and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Its primary deposit products include demand, savings, and time deposits, as well as lending products comprise real estate mortgages, commercial business loans, and instalment loans. The company also offers mortgage financing, new home purchases, refinancing, and construction lending in Middletown, Crofton, and Oakland, Maryland. The company was founded in 1908 and is based in Middletown, Maryland.