HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HBT. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on HBT Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised HBT Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.00.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

HBT traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $27.98. 6,290 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,467. HBT Financial has a fifty-two week low of $22.36 and a fifty-two week high of $29.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.56.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The firm had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in HBT Financial by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in HBT Financial by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 11,943 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in HBT Financial by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 257,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,658,000 after buying an additional 87,085 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in HBT Financial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in HBT Financial by 315.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 27,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Company Profile

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.