HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Director Patrick F. Busch Sells 8,000 Shares

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total transaction of $198,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

HBT Financial stock opened at $25.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $806.36 million, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.89. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.88 and a 200-day moving average of $22.53. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.75 and a 52 week high of $26.25.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. On average, analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This is a boost from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on HBT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HBT Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the third 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 1.6% during the third 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 105,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 91,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 5,070 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 43.5% during 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 period. 78.55% of the stock is 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.