HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $21.09, but opened at $21.52. HBT Financial shares last traded at $21.52, with a volume of 668 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HBT shares. DA Davidson lowered HBT Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on HBT Financial from $21.50 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of HBT Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HBT Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.60.

HBT Financial Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $686.43 million, a PE ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.66 and its 200-day moving average is $20.46.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $72.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.82 million. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 25.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Equities analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. HBT Financial’s payout ratio is currently 33.78%.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In related news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 11,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $278,359.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 190,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,577,100. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HBT Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HBT. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in HBT Financial during the third quarter valued at $122,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in HBT Financial by 109.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 14,400 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 406,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,298,000 after purchasing an additional 26,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 5.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 119,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 5,859 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.