HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Posted by Brian Himes on May 21st, 2026

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HBT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of HBT Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.75.

Get Our Latest Research Report on HBT Financial

HBT Financial Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT opened at $28.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. HBT Financial has a 52-week low of $22.36 and a 52-week high of $29.88.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $67.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.75 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 22.72%. As a group, research analysts forecast that HBT Financial will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 15,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total transaction of $455,416.06. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 45,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,427.95. The trade was a 25.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 51.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBT. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 17.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 15,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in HBT Financial in the first quarter valued at about $286,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at about $208,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 6.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in HBT Financial in the second quarter valued at about $297,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About HBT Financial

(Get Free Report)

HBT Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community-focused financial institution based in Lenoir, North Carolina. Through its subsidiary, HomeTrust Bank, the company provides a full suite of personal and business banking services across western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and Upstate South Carolina. The company’s operations include a network of branch offices, ATMs and online banking platforms designed to serve both urban and rural communities in its primary market areas.

HomeTrust Bank’s product offerings encompass traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.