HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Earns Market Perform Rating from Analysts at Hovde Group

Stock analysts at Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set a “market perform” rating and a $24.50 price target on the stock. Hovde Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.79% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.75.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of HBT opened at $22.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $717.34 million, a PE ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.03. HBT Financial has a twelve month low of $18.00 and a twelve month high of $26.25.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. As a group, research analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $243,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 58,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,374.60. The trade was 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total transaction of $198,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,508,140. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,900 shares of company stock worth $969,500 over the last three months. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 17,266 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in HBT Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HBT Financial Company Profile

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.