HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Trading Up 4%

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)’s stock price shot up 4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $18.89 and last traded at $18.89. 3,765 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 27,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on HBT Financial from $21.50 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $586.92 million, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.99 and its 200 day moving average is $19.30.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60. The business had revenue of $70.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.78 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 16.93% and a net margin of 24.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Roger A. Baker acquired 3,632 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $68,499.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 559,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,557,903.44. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other HBT Financial news, Director Roger A. Baker bought 1,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.68 per share, for a total transaction of $35,267.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 555,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,385,706.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roger A. Baker acquired 3,632 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $68,499.52. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 559,804 shares in the company, valued at $10,557,903.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 5,820 shares of company stock valued at $109,417. 58.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 366.4% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 289.1% in the 4th quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in HBT Financial by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,073 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in HBT Financial by 4,313.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 3,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 998.0% in the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 4,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,972 shares during the period. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.