HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 71,500 shares, an increase of 11.9% from the September 15th total of 63,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 32,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on HBT Financial from $21.50 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on HBT Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson cut HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $278,359.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 190,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,577,100. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 59.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $122,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in HBT Financial by 3.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in HBT Financial by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 14,400 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 95,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 15,242 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.92. The stock had a trading volume of 2,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,173. HBT Financial has a 1 year low of $17.69 and a 1 year high of $24.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.57. The company has a market capitalization of $724.07 million, a PE ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $72.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.82 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 25.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that HBT Financial will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 33.63%.

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.