National Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:NTIOF – Get Free Report) and HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares National Bank of Canada and HBT Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| National Bank of Canada | $21.96 billion | 2.66 | $2.87 billion | $8.63 | 17.76 |
| HBT Financial | $293.97 million | 4.59 | $77.01 million | $2.56 | 14.48 |
National Bank of Canada has higher revenue and earnings than HBT Financial. HBT Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Bank of Canada, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for National Bank of Canada and HBT Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| National Bank of Canada | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.38 |
| HBT Financial | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3.00 |
HBT Financial has a consensus price target of $39.20, indicating a potential upside of 5.72%. Given HBT Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe HBT Financial is more favorable than National Bank of Canada.
Profitability
This table compares National Bank of Canada and HBT Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| National Bank of Canada | 17.22% | 16.67% | 0.85% |
| HBT Financial | 24.66% | 14.48% | 1.66% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
0.1% of National Bank of Canada shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.5% of HBT Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of National Bank of Canada shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 51.9% of HBT Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
National Bank of Canada has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HBT Financial has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
National Bank of Canada pays an annual dividend of $3.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. HBT Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. National Bank of Canada pays out 44.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. HBT Financial pays out 39.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. HBT Financial has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. HBT Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
HBT Financial beats National Bank of Canada on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About National Bank of Canada
National Bank of Canada provides financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional clients, and governments in Canada and internationally. It operates through four segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, and U.S. Specialty Finance and International. The Personal and Commercial segment offers personal banking services, including transaction solutions, mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit, consumer loans, payment solutions, and savings and investment solutions; various insurance products; and commercial banking services, such as credit, and deposit, investment solutions, international trade, foreign exchange transactions, payroll, cash management, insurance, electronic transactions, and complimentary services. The Wealth Management segment provides full-service brokerage, private banking, direct brokerage, investment solutions, administrative and trade execution, transaction products, and trust and estate services. The Financial Markets segment offers corporate banking, advisory, and capital markets services; and project financing, debt, and equity underwriting; advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, and financing. The U.S. Specialty Finance and International segment provides specialty finance products; and personal and commercial banking in Cambodia. National Bank of Canada was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
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. Its loan offering comprises owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate; construction and land development and multi-family; commercial and industrial; agricultural and farmland; and one-to-four family residential loans, as well as municipal, consumer, and other loans. The company also offers wealth management services, including financial planning to consumers, trusts, and estates; trustee and custodial; investment management; corporate retirement plan consulting and administration; and retail brokerage services. In addition, it provides farmland management, and farmland sales and services; commercial checking accounts; and treasury management services, as well as originates and sells residential mortgage loans. Further, the company offers digital banking services, such as online and mobile banking, and digital payment services, as well as personal financial management tools. The company was formerly known as Heartland Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to HBT Financial, Inc. in September 2019. HBT Financial, Inc. was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois.
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