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

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $33.12 and last traded at $33.1350, with a volume of 30833 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of HBT Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of HBT Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.87 and its 200-day moving average is $28.27.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. HBT Financial had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $67.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.75 million. On average, analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total value of $455,416.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 45,815 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,427.95. The trade was a 25.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 51.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HBT. Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 857.6% during the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 160,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,288,000 after acquiring an additional 143,727 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in HBT Financial in the first quarter valued at $3,349,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in HBT Financial by 51.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the third quarter valued at about $725,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 315.1% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors 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.