Insider Selling: HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Sells $125,414.55 in Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.81, for a total value of $125,414.55. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 53,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,188.15. This trade represents a 8.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

HBT Financial Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HBT opened at $24.32 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.49. The company has a market capitalization of $767.54 million, a P/E ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.88. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.75 and a 52-week high of $25.35.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. Sell-side analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. 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 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.63%.

HBT Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HBT Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in HBT Financial by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the third quarter worth $122,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of HBT Financial in the third quarter valued at about $251,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the third quarter valued at about $295,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in HBT Financial by 3.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HBT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.80.

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.