Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock Price

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on HBT. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

HBT Financial Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ HBT opened at $26.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $822.52 million, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. HBT Financial has a one year low of $19.46 and a one year high of $29.88.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.00 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 26.20%. Research analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is presently 37.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 99,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 17,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 6.6% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

About HBT Financial

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.