HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 15,194 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the previous session’s volume of 28,531 shares.The stock last traded at $23.84 and had previously closed at $24.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HBT shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson downgraded HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.40.

HBT Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.29. The firm has a market cap of $745.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. The business had revenue of $56.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.05 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the first quarter worth $6,497,000. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in HBT Financial in the third quarter valued at $930,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 6.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 26,135 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 1,082.5% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 113,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 104,184 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 3.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

About HBT Financial

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.