Brokerages Set HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Target Price at $24.75

Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.75.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $24.50 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 182,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,055 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.81, for a total transaction of $125,414.55. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 53,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,188.15. The trade was a 8.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock worth $969,500. Insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HBT. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in HBT Financial by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 37,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 35,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in HBT Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 43,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 17,130 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in HBT Financial by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in HBT Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

HBT opened at $22.51 on Thursday. HBT Financial has a twelve month low of $18.00 and a twelve month high of $26.25. The stock has a market cap of $710.39 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.97 and its 200-day moving average is $23.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. 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. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.17%.

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.