Fred L. Drake Sells 5,000 Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,000 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.89, for a total value of $124,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 73,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,646.30. The trade was a 6.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

HBT Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of HBT Financial stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $24.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,888. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.41. The company has a market capitalization of $773.22 million, a P/E ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.86. HBT Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $17.75 and a one year high of $25.35.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $56.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.05 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. On average, research analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.55%.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,497,000. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in HBT Financial by 1,082.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 113,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 104,184 shares during the period. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in HBT Financial during the third quarter worth about $930,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in HBT Financial by 6.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,298,000 after acquiring an additional 26,135 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 93.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 46,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 22,618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered shares of HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.40.

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.