19,207 Shares in HBT Financial, Inc. $HBT Acquired by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management owned about 0.06% of HBT Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HBT. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 906.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HBT opened at $27.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.75. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.46 and a 52-week high of $29.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $857.41 million, a PE ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.58.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.00 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 26.20%. Analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is presently 37.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

HBT Financial 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.