HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Sells $150,625.65 in Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.77, for a total transaction of $150,625.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 37,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $974,750.25. This represents a 13.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

HBT Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT opened at $25.15 on Wednesday. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.00 and a 12 month high of $26.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $793.71 million, a P/E ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.89.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. As a group, research analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

HBT Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HBT. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $122,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Company Profile

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.