FY2025 EPS Estimates for HBT Financial Lifted by DA Davidson

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) – DA Davidson increased their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of HBT Financial in a note issued to investors on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis now expects that the company will earn $2.27 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.25. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for HBT Financial’s current full-year earnings is $2.33 per share.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.40.

HBT Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

HBT opened at $22.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.90. HBT Financial has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $25.35. The stock has a market cap of $695.56 million, a PE ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.87.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. The company had revenue of $56.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.05 million.

HBT Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total transaction of $52,492.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 91,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,182,474.20. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985. 59.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in HBT Financial by 1,082.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 113,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 104,184 shares in the last quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $930,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in HBT Financial by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 26,135 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 93.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 46,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 22,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 43.5% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

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.