HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Director Sells $198,160.00 in Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,140. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

HBT Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $25.55 on Friday. HBT Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $17.75 and a one year high of $26.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $806.36 million, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.53.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.63%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on 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 increased their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $438,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.