Brokerages Set HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Target Price at $28.50

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.50.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HBT shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HBT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in HBT Financial by 17.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 15,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the first quarter worth about $286,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in HBT Financial by 57.7% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 58,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after buying an additional 21,410 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 113,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after buying an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of HBT Financial by 162.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 66,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Stock Down 1.1%

HBT opened at $25.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.44 and a 200-day moving average of $25.90. The company has a market capitalization of $816.87 million, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.57. HBT Financial has a fifty-two week low of $19.46 and a fifty-two 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.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The business had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.00 million. On average, equities analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.70%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.