HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $25.52 and last traded at $25.41, with a volume of 60140 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.80.

HBT Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $801.94 million, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.85 and a 200-day moving average of $22.50.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. On average, equities analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is 33.63%.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,000 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.89, for a total value of $124,450.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 73,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,646.30. The trade was a 6.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,553 shares of company stock worth $721,200. Corporate insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the third quarter worth $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the third quarter valued at $251,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $295,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in HBT Financial by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

About HBT Financial

HBT Financial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company that provides business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and municipal entities in Central and Northeastern Illinois, and Eastern Iowa. The company's deposits accounts consist of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposits, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts.