Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $41.00 to $43.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.37% from the stock’s previous close.

HBT has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of HBT Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised HBT Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Hovde Group raised their price target on HBT Financial from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on HBT Financial from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.20.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT traded down $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.95. The stock had a trading volume of 39,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,930. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. HBT Financial has a 52 week low of $22.37 and a 52 week high of $37.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 0.49.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.07. HBT Financial had a net margin of 23.44% and a return on equity of 13.46%. The business had revenue of $84.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.87 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that HBT Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HBT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in HBT Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $63,321,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of HBT Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,995,000 after buying an additional 15,350 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at about $15,675,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at about $9,552,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 857.6% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 160,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,288,000 after buying an additional 143,727 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Key HBT Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting HBT Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue beat estimates. HBT reported adjusted EPS of $0.86, above consensus estimates ranging from $0.78 to $0.79, while revenue reached $84.21 million versus an $82.87 million estimate. EPS also increased from $0.65 a year earlier. HBT Financial Tops Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Banking fundamentals improved. Net income rose to $31.4 million, net interest margin increased three basis points sequentially to 4.35%, and noninterest income climbed 20.2% to $14.2 million. Profitability remained strong, with a 1.85% return on average assets and 16.17% return on average equity. HBT Financial Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Credit quality and the balance sheet remain healthy. Nonperforming assets were only 0.16% of total assets, while loans totaled $4.78 billion and deposits reached $5.75 billion. Analysts also highlighted HBT’s low-cost deposits, conservative balance sheet, approximately 2.7% dividend yield, and acquisition-led growth strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Tri-County Financial acquisition remains a growth catalyst. The transaction is expected to close in early 2027, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals, and could expand HBT’s branch density, scale, and regional-bank profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data provides little evidence of bearish positioning. Reported short interest was zero shares, equivalent to a 0.0-day short-interest ratio; however, the data conflicts with the description of a “significant increase” in short interest.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent gains and insider selling may limit near-term upside. HBT’s substantial yearlong rally raises valuation and profit-taking concerns, while Executive Chairman Fred L. Drake reportedly sold 15,742 shares during the past six months.

About HBT Financial

HBT Financial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. Its principal subsidiary, Heartland Bank and Trust Company, operates as a community bank serving individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and institutions.

Heartland Bank provides a range of traditional banking products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer loans, commercial lending and agricultural financing. The bank also offers treasury management, online and mobile banking, wealth management, trust and investment services, and other financial solutions.

Through its branch network and digital channels, HBT Financial serves communities primarily across central and eastern Illinois and parts of eastern Iowa.