Insider Selling: HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $60,275.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 71,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,908.70. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

HBT Financial Trading Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ HBT opened at $22.24 on Thursday. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.75 and a 12-month high of $25.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.90. 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 stock has a market cap of $701.87 million, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.87.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $56.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.05 million. On average, analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is 34.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HBT. Piper Sandler cut their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson cut HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,501,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 5.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 119,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 5,859 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 1,082.5% during 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. 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.