HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Director Sells $198,160.00 in Stock

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

HBT Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $24.52. The company had a trading volume of 26,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,976. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.00 and a 12 month high of $26.25. The stock has a market cap of $773.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.53.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. As a group, equities research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a boost from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

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

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBT. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in HBT Financial by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in HBT Financial by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on HBT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.