The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $15.68 Million in HBT Financial, Inc. $HBT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 490,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,675,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HBT. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in HBT Financial by 66.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised 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 worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 1st quarter worth $241,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $282,000. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT opened at $35.79 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.11 and its 200 day moving average is $30.12. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.36 and a 12-month high of $37.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HBT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of HBT Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HBT Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

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.