HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 15,194 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the previous session’s volume of 28,531 shares.The stock last traded at $23.84 and had previously closed at $24.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HBT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson cut HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.40.

HBT Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $751.44 million, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.24.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $57.05 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in HBT Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 626,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,183 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 26,135 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,497,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

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.