HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the analysts making substantial upgrades to next year's forecasts. The consensus estimated revenue numbers rose, with their view now clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects.
Following the upgrade, the current consensus from HBT Financial's five analysts is for revenues of US$303m in 2026 which - if met - would reflect a substantial 30% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are presumed to rise 7.1% to US$2.67. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$243m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.44 in 2026. The most recent forecasts are noticeably more optimistic, with a considerable lift to revenue estimates and a lift to earnings per share as well.
Check out our latest analysis for HBT Financial
Despite these upgrades, the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of US$30.38, suggesting that the higher estimates are not likely to have a long term impact on what the stock is worth.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the HBT Financial's past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting HBT Financial's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 23% annualised growth to the end of 2026 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 10% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 8.1% annually. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect HBT Financial to grow faster than the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates for next year, expecting improving business conditions. They also upgraded their revenue estimates for next year, and sales are expected to grow faster than the wider market. Seeing the dramatic upgrade to next year's forecasts, it might be time to take another look at HBT Financial.
Even so, the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for the value creation of shareholders. We have estimates - from multiple HBT Financial analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies backed by insiders.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.