HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 88,124 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 220% from the previous session’s volume of 27,508 shares.The stock last traded at $22.15 and had previously closed at $23.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HBT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James upgraded HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on HBT Financial from $21.50 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on HBT Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

HBT Financial Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $679.21 million, a PE ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.60 and a 200 day moving average of $19.68.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 25.61%. The firm had revenue of $72.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is 33.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HBT Financial news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $278,359.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 190,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,577,100. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other HBT Financial news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $278,359.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 190,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,577,100. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eric E. Burwell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.99 per share, for a total transaction of $113,940.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $604,261.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HBT. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in HBT Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $1,010,000. Meredith Wealth Planning acquired a new position in HBT Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 67,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 19,440 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

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.