Fred L. Drake Sells 4,798 Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 4,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $114,768.16. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 86,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,073,194.24. This represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ HBT traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.30. 26,655 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,644. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $766.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.86. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.75 and a 12-month high of $25.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.47 and a 200 day moving average of $21.31.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 24.68%. The business had revenue of $56.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.05 million. As a group, equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HBT. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson downgraded shares of HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HBT. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 43.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 17,266 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in HBT Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 29,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.