HBT Financial reports Q4 adjusted EPS 60c, consensus 59c

Reports net interest margin of 3.93% and net interest margin of 3.99%. J. Lance Carter, President and Chief Executive Officer of HBT Financial, said, “We had a very good fourth quarter to complete an excellent year. We continued to produce strong profitability with an adjusted ROAA of 1.53%, an adjusted ROATCE of 19.81% and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.60. We were able to improve liquidity and increase deposits, excluding brokered deposits, by 4.2% for the quarter by bringing the majority of our wealth management customers’ deposits onto our balance sheet. Even without our wealth management customers’ deposits, total deposits, excluding brokered deposits, increased by $29.4 million, or 0.7%. Loan growth remained solid at 1.8% for the quarter while we maintained strong credit quality with non-performing assets at only 0.17% of total assets. Although net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis)(1) declined to 3.99% in the quarter, we believe that the pace of net interest margin decreases will moderate in the first quarter of 2024. With the recent drop in interest rates, our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) increased by $21.3 million, which when coupled with strong earnings retention, drove a 9.3% increase in our tangible book value per share(1). All capital metrics increased and can support continued organic growth or future acquisitions. We believe this quarter continues to demonstrate our ability to produce strong profitability results, maintain a solid balance sheet, and enhance our franchise value.”