HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on HBT. Weiss Ratings cut HBT Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson increased their price target on HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research downgraded HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.25.

HBT Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:HBT traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.06. 78,150 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,945. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.51. HBT Financial has a 12 month low of $22.36 and a 12 month high of $33.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.13.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 22.72%.The company had revenue of $67.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.75 million. Sell-side analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total value of $455,416.06. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 45,815 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,427.95. This represents a 25.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 51.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 857.6% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 160,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,288,000 after acquiring an additional 143,727 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the first quarter worth $3,349,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in HBT Financial by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 257,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,658,000 after purchasing an additional 87,085 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the third quarter valued at $725,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in HBT Financial by 315.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 27,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.