Banc Funds Co. LLC Sells 54,549 Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Banc Funds Co. LLC reduced its position in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 42.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,544 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,549 shares during the period. Banc Funds Co. LLC’s holdings in HBT Financial were worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $930,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 26,135 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 1,082.5% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 113,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 104,184 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 3.8% in 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 period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of HBT Financial by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 626,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,183 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

HBT Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:HBT opened at $23.95 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $22.63 and its 200 day moving average is $21.54. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.75 and a 12 month high of $25.35. The company has a market capitalization of $755.84 million, a P/E ratio of 10.89 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 0.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.05 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 86,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,073,194.24. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 11,998 shares of company stock valued at $291,710 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

HBT Financial 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.