Financial Comparison: Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) and HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT)

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Northeast Community Bancorp and HBT Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northeast Community Bancorp	$103.62 million	3.48	$44.41 million	$3.12	8.39
HBT Financial	$266.65 million	4.81	$77.01 million	$2.33	15.15

HBT Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Northeast Community Bancorp. Northeast Community Bancorp 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 Northeast Community Bancorp and HBT Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northeast Community Bancorp	27.67%	12.00%	2.05%
HBT Financial	23.44%	13.46%	1.55%

Dividends

Northeast Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. HBT Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Northeast Community Bancorp pays out 32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. HBT Financial pays out 42.9% 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. Northeast Community Bancorp has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and HBT Financial has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Northeast Community Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Northeast Community Bancorp and HBT Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northeast Community Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75
HBT Financial	0	2	4	1	2.86

Northeast Community Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $29.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.64%. HBT Financial has a consensus price target of $37.40, indicating a potential upside of 5.98%. Given Northeast Community Bancorp’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Northeast Community Bancorp is more favorable than HBT Financial.

Volatility and Risk

Northeast Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HBT Financial has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

53.2% of Northeast Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of HBT Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.1% of Northeast Community Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 51.9% of HBT Financial shares are owned by company 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 Northeast Community Bancorp on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northeast Community Bancorp

Northeast Community Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for NorthEast Community Bank that provides financial services for individuals and businesses. It accepts various deposit instruments, including checking accounts, money market accounts, regular savings accounts, and non-interest bearing demand accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers construction, commercial and industrial, multifamily and mixed-use real estate, non-residential real estate loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it invests in various types of liquid assets, including U.S. Treasury obligations, municipal securities, deposits at the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, and certificates of deposit of federally insured institutions, as well as securities of various federal agencies, and of state and municipal governments. Further, the company offers financial planning and investment advisory services; and life insurance products and fixed-rate annuities. It operates full-service branches located in Bronx, New York, Orange, Rockland, and Sullivan Counties in New York and Essex, Middlesex, and Norfolk Counties in Massachusetts; and loan production offices located in White Plains, New York, and New City counties in New York and Danvers, Massachusetts. Northeast Community Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in White Plains, New York.

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.