Banc Funds Co. LLC Sells 54,549 Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Banc Funds Co. LLC trimmed its stake in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) by 42.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,544 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,549 shares during the quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned approximately 0.23% of HBT Financial worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 0.8% during 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,298,000 after acquiring an additional 26,135 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 119,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 5,859 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 1,082.5% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 113,808 shares of the company's stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 104,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 95,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 15,242 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In related news, 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 directly owns 86,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,073,194.24. This trade represents a 5.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,998 shares of company stock valued at $291,710. 59.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

HBT Financial Price Performance

HBT stock traded up $0.11 on Monday, hitting $24.06. 9,677 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,727. 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 market cap of $759.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.86. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $25.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.63 and a 200-day moving average of $21.54.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.05 million. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 14.70%. On average, analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is 34.55%.

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.