Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $552,000 Stock Holdings in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) by 46.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,215 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,585 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.08% of HBT Financial worth $552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 3.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 1.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in HBT Financial in the third quarter valued at $122,000. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In other HBT Financial news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total value of $60,275.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 71,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,715,908.70. This represents a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 59.80% of the company's stock.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of HBT stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.32. 27,008 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,412. The stock's 50-day moving average is $22.80 and its 200-day moving average is $22.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $735.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

HBT Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on HBT shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.80.

HBT Financial 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.