HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock Price Up 3.9% – Here’s What Happened

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) traded up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.02 and last traded at $21.60. 27,075 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 35,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hovde Group began coverage on HBT Financial in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $24.50 target price for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.75.

HBT Financial Stock Up 2.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $675.05 million, a P/E ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.03.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. Research analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at HBT Financial

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $243,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 58,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,374.60. This trade represents a 14.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $969,500 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HBT. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.