HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.37 and last traded at $29.27, with a volume of 38119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HBT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial raised HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $27.00 target price on HBT Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

HBT Financial Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $919.96 million, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.58.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. The business had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.00 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 26.20%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HBT. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 99,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 32.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 3.5% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other 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.