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

Analysts at Hovde Group started coverage on shares of HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $24.50 price target on the stock. Hovde Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.84% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.75.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of HBT Financial stock opened at $22.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $710.39 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.04. HBT Financial has a one year low of $18.00 and a one year high of $26.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.15, for a total transaction of $251,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 22,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,048.75. This trade represents a 30.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,508,140. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $969,500. 59.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $295,000. FMR LLC grew its position in HBT Financial by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 23.2% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 29,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of HBT Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,874 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 17,266 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.