HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Price Target Cut to $21.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.50 to $21.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

HBT stock opened at $18.92 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.27. HBT Financial has a 12-month low of $16.33 and a 12-month high of $21.87. The firm has a market cap of $598.63 million, a P/E ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60. The business had revenue of $70.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.78 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.84% and a return on equity of 16.93%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In related news, Director Roger A. Baker purchased 1,888 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.68 per share, with a total value of $35,267.84. Following the purchase, the director now owns 555,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,706.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Roger A. Baker purchased 1,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.68 per share, with a total value of $35,267.84. Following the purchase, the director now owns 555,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,706.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Roger A. Baker acquired 3,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.86 per share, for a total transaction of $68,499.52. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 559,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,557,903.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 5,820 shares of company stock worth $109,417 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 58.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,732,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,940,000 after purchasing an additional 316,042 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 34.1% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 263,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,202,000 after buying an additional 67,026 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 179.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 102,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 65,700 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 212,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 55,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 4th quarter worth $1,010,000. 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.