Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock Price

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) had its target price lowered by Piper Sandler from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

HBT Financial stock opened at $23.32 on Friday. HBT Financial has a 52 week low of $17.75 and a 52 week high of $25.35. 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 has a market cap of $735.98 million, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.81 and a 200-day moving average of $22.36.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.63%.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $114,768.16. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 86,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,073,194.24. The trade was a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,498 shares of company stock valued at $351,985. Insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 91,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 62.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,969 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 17,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HBT Financial Company Profile

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.