FY2025 EPS Estimates for HBT Financial Raised by DA Davidson

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) – Research analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2025 earnings estimates for HBT Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $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 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for HBT Financial’s current full-year earnings is $2.33 per share.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HBT. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.40.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $22.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $696.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.94. HBT Financial has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $25.35.

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

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

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.55%.

Insider Transactions at HBT Financial

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total transaction of $52,492.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 91,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 19.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 95,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 15,242 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in HBT Financial by 1,082.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 113,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 104,184 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of HBT Financial by 5.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 119,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 5,859 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,298,000 after acquiring an additional 26,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in HBT Financial by 109.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 14,400 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.