Hovde Group Begins Coverage on HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT)

Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $24.50 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on HBT. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.75.

HBT Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of HBT Financial stock opened at $22.92 on Thursday. HBT Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.00 and a fifty-two week high of $26.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $723.33 million, a PE ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.81.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. Analysts anticipate that HBT Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

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

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 37.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $243,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 58,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,374.60. This trade represents a 14.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,508,140. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,900 shares of company stock worth $969,500 over the last ninety days. 59.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBT. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in HBT Financial by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of HBT Financial by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.