Heartland Bank & Trust Co Raises Stake in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,770 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares during the period. HBT Financial accounts for 1.1% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in HBT Financial were worth $2,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in HBT Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $930,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 6.9% in 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of HBT Financial by 93.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 46,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 22,618 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 43.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 17,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted 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 valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 14,400 shares in the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HBT Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.80.

HBT Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBT opened at $23.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $735.98 million, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.88. HBT Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.75 and a twelve month high of $25.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. On average, research analysts forecast that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.15 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 issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a positive change from HBT Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.63%.

HBT Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at HBT Financial

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 2,200 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total value of $52,492.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 91,470 shares in the company, valued at $2,182,474.20. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 14,498 shares of company stock worth $351,985 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 59.80% of the company’s stock.

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.