HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake Sells 5,845 Shares of Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 37,825 shares in the company, valued at $974,750.25. This trade represents a 13.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

HBT Financial Price Performance

HBT opened at $24.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $773.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.00 and a 12-month high of $26.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.53.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors 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 yield of 3.43%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.17%.

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

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 70.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in HBT Financial in the third quarter worth about $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the third quarter valued at about $251,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 target price on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, HBT Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.80.

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.