HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Trading Up 4%

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)’s stock price rose 4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $18.89 and last traded at $18.89. Approximately 3,765 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 27,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on HBT Financial from $21.50 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th.

HBT Financial Trading Up 2.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $586.92 million, a PE ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.30.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.60. The business had revenue of $70.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.78 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 16.93% and a net margin of 24.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Roger A. Baker bought 1,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.68 per share, for a total transaction of $35,267.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 555,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,385,706.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other HBT Financial news, Director Roger A. Baker purchased 3,632 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $68,499.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 559,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,557,903.44. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roger A. Baker acquired 1,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.68 per share, for a total transaction of $35,267.84. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 555,980 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,706.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 5,820 shares of company stock valued at $109,417. 58.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $1,010,000. Meredith Wealth Planning bought a new stake in HBT Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 100.0% in the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 20.5% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.