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

Hovde Group started coverage on shares of HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $24.50 price objective on the stock.

HBT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.75.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $22.51 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $710.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. HBT Financial has a 52-week low of $18.00 and a 52-week high of $26.25.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 37.17%.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total transaction of $198,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,900 shares of company stock worth $969,500. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBT. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,111,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 332,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,287,000 after buying an additional 32,146 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in HBT Financial by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 461,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,110,000 after acquiring an additional 29,200 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in HBT Financial by 96.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 46,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 22,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $438,000. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

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.