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

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.15, for a total value of $251,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 22,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,048.75. This trade represents a 30.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

HBT Financial stock opened at $25.25 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.58. The stock has a market cap of $796.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.89. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.00 and a 52 week high of $26.25. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. On average, analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 37.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in HBT Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $122,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in HBT Financial by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.