Royce & Associates LP Acquires 32,146 Shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 332,753 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 32,146 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.05% of HBT Financial worth $7,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 20,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 7,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 105,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,307,000 after buying an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of HBT Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $438,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 9.0% during 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. Institutional investors own 78.55% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on HBT shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 5,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.77, for a total value of $150,625.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 37,825 shares in the company, valued at $974,750.25. The trade was a 13.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $969,500. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HBT Financial Price Performance

HBT stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.74. 100,209 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,982. The stock has a market cap of $717.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.81. HBT Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $18.00 and a one year high of $26.25. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.00.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. HBT Financial's payout ratio is presently 37.17%.

HBT Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.