Piper Sandler Raises HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Price Target to $30.00

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) had its target price raised by Piper Sandler from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.64% from the stock’s previous close.

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

HBT Financial Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT opened at $26.17 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.47 and its 200 day moving average is $25.90. HBT Financial has a 12-month low of $19.46 and a 12-month high of $29.88. The stock has a market cap of $822.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 26.20%.The business had revenue of $61.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBT. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position 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 valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,003 shares in 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.