HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) & Bank of China (OTCMKTS:BACHY) Head to Head Review

Bank of China (OTCMKTS:BACHY) and HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Dividends

Bank of China pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. HBT Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Bank of China pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. HBT Financial pays out 42.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. HBT Financial has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Bank of China is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bank of China and HBT Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of China	$169.73 billion	1.27	$33.81 billion	$2.57	6.49
HBT Financial	$266.65 million	4.96	$77.01 million	$2.33	15.60

Bank of China has higher revenue and earnings than HBT Financial. Bank of China is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HBT Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.6% of HBT Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 51.9% of HBT Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of China and HBT Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of China	20.09%	7.81%	0.67%
HBT Financial	23.44%	14.03%	1.63%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Bank of China and HBT Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of China	0	1	0	0	2.00
HBT Financial	0	3	3	0	2.50

HBT Financial has a consensus price target of $33.25, suggesting a potential downside of 8.53%. Given HBT Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe HBT Financial is more favorable than Bank of China.

Risk & Volatility

Bank of China has a beta of 0.07, indicating that its stock price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HBT Financial has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

HBT Financial beats Bank of China on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of China

Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and financial services in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and internationally. It operates through six segments: Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, Treasury Operations, Investment Banking, Insurance, and Other. The Corporate Banking segment provides current accounts, deposits, overdrafts, loans, payments and settlements, trade-related products, and other credit facilities, as well as foreign currency, derivative, and wealth management products for corporate customers, government authorities, and financial institutions. The Personal Banking segment offers savings deposits, personal loans, credit cards and debit cards, payments and settlements, wealth management, and funds and insurance agency services to retail customers. The Treasury Operations segment offers foreign exchange transactions, customer-based interest rate, and foreign exchange derivative transactions, as well as money market transactions, proprietary trading, and asset and liability management. The Investment Banking segment provides debt and equity underwriting and financial advisory, sale and trading of securities, stock brokerage, investment research, asset management services, and private equity investment services. The Insurance segment provides underwriting services for general and life insurance business, and insurance agency services. In addition, the company operates debt-to-equity swaps and other supporting, and aircraft and financial leasing business. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

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. Its loan offering comprises owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate; construction and land development and multi-family; commercial and industrial; agricultural and farmland; and one-to-four family residential loans, as well as municipal, consumer, and other loans. The company also offers wealth management services, including financial planning to consumers, trusts, and estates; trustee and custodial; investment management; corporate retirement plan consulting and administration; and retail brokerage services. In addition, it provides farmland management, and farmland sales and services; commercial checking accounts; and treasury management services, as well as originates and sells residential mortgage loans. Further, the company offers digital banking services, such as online and mobile banking, and digital payment services, as well as personal financial management tools. The company was formerly known as Heartland Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to HBT Financial, Inc. in September 2019. HBT Financial, Inc. was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois.