Short Interest in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Increases By 16.2%

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 73,700 shares, a growth of 16.2% from the October 31st total of 63,400 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.89, for a total transaction of $124,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 73,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,646.30. This represents a 6.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,998 shares of company stock worth $291,710. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HBT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in HBT Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 626,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,183 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,497,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of HBT Financial by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 95,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 15,242 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 1,082.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 113,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 104,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 5.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 119,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 5,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ HBT traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.95. 16,148 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,361. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. HBT Financial has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $25.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.53. The company has a market cap of $755.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.86.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $56.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.05 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HBT Financial will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson cut shares of HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.40.

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.