HBT Financial, Inc. (HBT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.21 on February 11th

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.2% per year 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 $2.12 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.81 and its 200 day moving average is $22.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $735.98 million, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.88. HBT Financial has a twelve month low of $17.75 and a twelve month 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, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HBT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $114,768.16. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 86,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,073,194.24. This represents a 5.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,498 shares of company stock valued at $351,985. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.