HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $25.52 and last traded at $25.41, with a volume of 60140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.80.

HBT Financial Trading Down 2.5 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.55. The company has a market cap of $786.45 million, a PE ratio of 11.03 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.

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

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

HBT Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In related news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $114,768.16. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 86,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,073,194.24. The trade was a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,553 shares of company stock valued at $919,360. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd 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 period. State Street Corp raised its stake in HBT Financial by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in HBT Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 105,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its position in HBT Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 91,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 17,266 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.