University Bancorp (OTCMKTS:UNIB) versus HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Critical Review

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) and University Bancorp (OTCMKTS:UNIB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for HBT Financial and University Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HBT Financial	1	2	2	0	2.20
University Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

HBT Financial presently has a consensus target price of $24.40, suggesting a potential upside of 2.09%. Given HBT Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe HBT Financial is more favorable than University Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares HBT Financial and University Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HBT Financial	$265.05 million	2.85	$65.84 million	$2.20	10.86
University Bancorp	$105.57 million	0.82	$5.43 million	N/A	N/A

HBT Financial has higher revenue and earnings than University Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares HBT Financial and University Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HBT Financial	24.68%	14.70%	1.49%
University Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.6% of HBT Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 59.8% of HBT Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 63.7% of University Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

HBT Financial has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, University Bancorp has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

HBT Financial beats University Bancorp on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About University Bancorp

University Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for University Bank that provides various personal, business, and community banking services in the United States. It offers checking, NOW, savings, money market, time deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company's consumer loans include home equity, short term, automobile, personal, and recreational vehicle loans, as well as home equity lines of credits; SBA, commercial real estate, equipment, home improvement, and other instalment loans; and non-profit loans, as well as working capital lines of credit. In addition, the company provides foreign currency exchange; reverse mortgage; online banking and bill pay; online reorder checks; wire transfer; and courier services, as well as credit card and ATM services. Further, it offers life, health, property, and casualty insurance products, as well as investment products, including annuities. University Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.