By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT – Get Free Report) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.81, for a total value of $125,414.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 53,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,188.15. This represents a 8.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
HBT Financial Stock Down 2.2 %
HBT stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.32. The company had a trading volume of 78,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,943. The company has a market capitalization of $767.54 million, a P/E ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.48. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.75 and a 1 year high of $25.35.
HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. On average, equities research analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
HBT Financial Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 33.63%.
HBT Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
HBT has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.80.
View Our Latest Research Report on HBT Financial
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in HBT Financial by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.
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.
Further Reading
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