Head-To-Head Survey: HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) & Chemung Financial (NASDAQ:CHMG)

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) and Chemung Financial (NASDAQ:CHMG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares HBT Financial and Chemung Financial’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HBT Financial	$265.05 million	2.86	$65.84 million	$2.26	10.62
Chemung Financial	$137.62 million	1.68	$25.00 million	$5.22	9.30

HBT Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Chemung Financial. Chemung Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HBT Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for HBT Financial and Chemung Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HBT Financial	1	1	2	0	2.25
Chemung Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

HBT Financial presently has a consensus price target of $24.75, suggesting a potential upside of 3.13%. Chemung Financial has a consensus price target of $49.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.97%. Given HBT Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HBT Financial is more favorable than Chemung Financial.

Profitability

This table compares HBT Financial and Chemung Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HBT Financial	25.61%	15.76%	1.50%
Chemung Financial	16.02%	11.53%	0.79%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.6% of HBT Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.5% of Chemung Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 59.8% of HBT Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.0% of Chemung Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

HBT Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Chemung Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. HBT Financial pays out 33.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chemung Financial pays out 23.8% 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.

Volatility & Risk

HBT Financial has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chemung Financial has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

HBT Financial beats Chemung Financial on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Chemung Financial

Chemung Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Chemung Canal Trust Company that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, and other financial services. The company provides demand, savings, and time deposits; non-interest and interest-bearing checking accounts; and insured money market accounts. It also offers commercial and agricultural loans comprising loans to small to mid-sized businesses; commercial and residential mortgage loans; and consumer loans, including home equity lines of credit and home equity term loans. In addition, the company provides interest rate swaps, letters of credit, employee benefit plans, insurance products, mutual fund, brokerage, and tax preparation services. Further, it offers guardian, custodian, trustee, investment, pension, estate planning, and employee benefit administrative services, as well as acts as an agent for pension, profit-sharing, and other employee benefit trusts. Chemung Financial Corporation was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in Elmira, New York.