HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.40.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HBT. Zacks Research lowered shares of HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on HBT Financial from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised HBT Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of HBT stock opened at $36.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.38. HBT Financial has a 12 month low of $22.36 and a 12 month high of $37.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70 and a beta of 0.51.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $80.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.36 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 23.44% and a return on equity of 13.46%. Analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 42.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring 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 purchasing an additional 3,827 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the second quarter valued at about $147,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the second quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in HBT Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $240,000. 78.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.