HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Sells $150,625.65 in Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.77, for a total value of $150,625.65. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 37,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $974,750.25. This trade represents a 13.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

HBT Financial Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of HBT opened at $24.53 on Thursday. 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 $774.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.54. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.00 and a 52-week high of $26.25.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HBT. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in HBT Financial in the third quarter valued at about $930,000. FMR LLC boosted 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. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of HBT Financial by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 17,266 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HBT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.80.

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.