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

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 51,259 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 84% from the previous session’s volume of 27,886 shares.The stock last traded at $20.89 and had previously closed at $20.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on HBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on HBT Financial from $21.50 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on HBT Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James raised HBT Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $668.47 million, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.71.

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

HBT Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is 33.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HBT Financial news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 190,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,577,100. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 190,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,577,100. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric E. Burwell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.99 per share, with a total value of $113,940.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 31,820 shares in the company, valued at $604,261.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 70.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the first quarter valued at $183,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 3.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 109.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 14,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 67,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 19,440 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is 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.