HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $25.52 and last traded at $25.41, with a volume of 60140 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HBT shares. Piper Sandler decreased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

HBT Financial Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.50. The stock has a market cap of $801.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its 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 research analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.63%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total transaction of $243,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 58,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,374.60. The trade was a 14.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 29,553 shares of company stock worth $721,200 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HBT. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in HBT Financial by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in HBT Financial by 1.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,501,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.