HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Shares Acquired by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 332,753 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,146 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in HBT Financial were worth $7,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $251,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HBT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of 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 cut their price objective on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

HBT Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of HBT stock opened at $23.22 on Wednesday. HBT Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.00 and a twelve month high of $26.25. The company has a market capitalization of $732.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.00. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. Research analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.77, for a total value of $150,625.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 37,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $974,750.25. The trade was a 13.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $198,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,508,140. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock worth $969,500. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.