HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04, Zacks reports. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 14.70%.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of HBT opened at $22.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $706.31 million, a PE ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. HBT Financial has a 52-week low of $17.75 and a 52-week high of $25.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.40.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In other news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total transaction of $52,492.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 91,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,182,474.20. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

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

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.