HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyShares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT – Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 31,150 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 29,903 shares.The stock last traded at $29.39 and had previously closed at $29.27.
Analyst Ratings Changes
HBT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial raised HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $27.00 price objective on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.50.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on HBT Financial
HBT Financial Price Performance
The stock has a market capitalization of $889.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.
HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $61.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.00 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 13.69%. Equities research analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.
HBT Financial Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 37.70%.
HBT Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Institutional Trading of HBT Financial
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 99,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 32.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in HBT Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in HBT Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 17,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.
HBT Financial Company Profile
HBT Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community-focused financial institution based in Lenoir, North Carolina. Through its subsidiary, HomeTrust Bank, the company provides a full suite of personal and business banking services across western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and Upstate South Carolina. The company’s operations include a network of branch offices, ATMs and online banking platforms designed to serve both urban and rural communities in its primary market areas.
HomeTrust Bank’s product offerings encompass traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.