HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.21

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19.

HBT Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.2% annually over the last three years. HBT Financial has a payout ratio of 34.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect HBT Financial to earn $2.15 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 35.3%.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:HBT traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $22.58. 10,788 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,690. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. HBT Financial has a 1 year low of $17.75 and a 1 year high of $25.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.35. The company has a market cap of $712.47 million, a PE ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.88.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. Equities analysts anticipate that HBT Financial will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $60,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 71,170 shares in the company, valued at $1,715,908.70. The trade was a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.40.

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.