Fred L. Drake Sells 10,000 Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $243,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 58,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,374.60. This represents a 14.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

HBT Financial Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ HBT traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.32. 78,955 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,943. The firm has a market capitalization of $767.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.75 and a 52-week high of $25.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.85 and its 200-day moving average is $22.48.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.63%.

HBT Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 18th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HBT. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,784 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.