By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT – Get Free Report) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,374.60. This trade represents a 14.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
HBT Financial Stock Performance
HBT stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.32. 78,955 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,943. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $767.54 million, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.88. 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. On average, equities analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
HBT Financial Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.63%.
HBT Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in HBT Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $930,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 6.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 26,135 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 93.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 46,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 22,618 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 43.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 17,266 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 109.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 14,400 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.80.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on HBT Financial
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.
Featured Articles
Receive News & Ratings for HBT Financial Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for HBT Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.