HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.21 Per Share

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 23rd,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of 0.21 per share on Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19.

HBT Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 8.2% per year over the last three years. HBT Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 34.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect HBT Financial to earn $2.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.8%.

HBT Financial Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ HBT opened at $23.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $735.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.36. HBT Financial has a one year low of $17.75 and a one year high of $25.35.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that HBT Financial will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.89, for a total transaction of $124,450.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 73,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,646.30. This represents a 6.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985 in the last three months. 59.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HBT Financial declared that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HBT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.80.

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.